Light surrounded me.
No, that wasn't right. It was shapes, shapes glowing with light.
Except the shapes weren't just shapes, they were people. Mostly. I could swear one of them was a dog. Or that another was a Zora. A few others seemed to be multiple of the same person superimposed on top of each other. Some were tall, most were shorter, but they all had roughly the same lean build.
The people shapes seemed to be saying something, probably to each other, but I couldn't hear them. A few looked like they were laughing, others were distracted, and a few more were just standing there, listening. I would have liked to know what they were saying, but, again, I couldn't hear anything.
Suddenly, the Master Sword was standing in front of me, the beautiful blade shining in its pedestal. I didn't know when it got there, or if it had been sitting there the entire time, but once I saw it, I could feel the eyes of the shining people on me.
We stood there, them watching me watching the sword, until I reached out for the purple hilt. My fingers wrapped around it and I heard a voice. It was one I instinctively recognized, the same voice that had asked me why I had wanted to wield the Master Sword in the first place.
'You seek to bear the Sword, even now?'
I did.
'Though the task you dare to accomplish may well be impossible?'
It was only impossible if I didn't try.
'You know it may cost your life.'
I did.
'You remain resolute.'
Yes.
'Then draw the Sword.'
I easily pulled the Master Sword out of its short plinth, feeling the familiar grip once again. It felt lighter than ever, practically nonexistent in my hand. Still feeling the eyes of the figures on me, I raised the sword to them, showing them the glittering blade that hummed with unearthly light.
"You truly bear our Spirit," the figures said, their voices clear. All of them reached out, laying their left hands on the Sword and melted into it, each one imbuing the blade with more light. I felt them flowing into me too, filling my arms with strength and my legs with power. Determination burned in my heart, shining with the same luminance as the Sword. In moments, the light of the figures was gone, only remaining in the brilliance of the Sword and blazing in my chest. The place I was in fractured and faded like a dream, steadily slipping away. "End the cycle of suffering," I heard the voices say, before the world snapped back around me.
Purpose ran in my soul as the brilliance of the divine lightning faded. Nothing hurt anymore, my wounds had been healed as if they had never existed, my exhaustion was gone, I felt more aware than I ever had before, and the world practically glowed. If I focused, I could see the magic running through the air and the stone surrounding us, a massive amount of it radiating from the person next to me.
I knew who she was. Her hair could have been made of divine gold for how it shone, perfect and flawless. Her skin glowed with healthy radiance, the warm skin bright against the contrast of her dress, the fabric flowing around her sculpted body like magical silk and accented with intricate patterns of luminous energy. Her plush pink lips opened slightly as she took a slow breath before releasing it through her small, pointed nose. Eyes shone brilliant blue, calmer than the ocean, melting into gold towards the center. My soul sang at it recognized her, felt deep, eternal love for her, my reason for fighting.
Hylia. She knew who I was too.
"Link," she said, her voice resonant like the chiming of a bell. I smiled at her but didn't say anything. Nothing seemed appropriate. I just looked at her before turning, feeling my tunic stretch around me. I didn't bother looking at it, already knowing what it had become.
The bright green had deepened into the many shaded tone of a forest. Something like a cape had appeared around my shoulders, flowing with ethereal weightlessness. My hat was a mix of the two, dark green and fading into a long, wispy tail. My boots, gauntlets, and belts had all turned black, and matching shoulder pads had appeared. My chainmail shone silver, as did the light chestpiece that materialized around my torso. The Hylian Shield shone with a mirror polish and the Master Sword radiated a white so pure it would hurt to look at. Finally, emblazoned on the back of my left hand, sat the Triforce, swirls of golden energy spiraling from it and up around my arm.
Zelda-turned-Hylia and I look down at Ruin, who had apparently just watched us with clenched teeth, a low growl rumbling in his chest. That changed a moment later as darkness from all around the temple flowed across the floor and walls towards him, pooling underneath his feet. A massive influx of shadow poured in from the way we had come in, a huge wave of darkness. With my new superior senses, I could feel the essence of all the monsters standing guard outside in the flowing mass, their bodies reduced to ash as their master absorbed what passed for their souls. Still, my heart held no pity for them, instead focusing on what Ruin was becoming.
The God of Destruction's already barely humanoid body was quickly becoming less so as he absorbed the dark essence that surrounded him. His arms bulged with muscle, the grey and red scales covering them multiplying and becoming jagged, sticking out like thousands of tiny, rough blades. Legs followed suit, but his feet became a bizarre mix of hooves and paws, having the overall shape of a wolf's foot, but smaller, adjusted for a biped, and covered with a thick, segmented layer of hoof.
Fangs sprouted from the King of Monsters' mouth as he shot up in height, surpassing his former height and stopping at nearly 15 feet tall. He was still built like a mountain, torso wide with layers of thick muscles. His hair also grew, not only to accommodate his taller height, but spreading across his shoulders and back, covering him with an ever-shifting pelt of grey and red flame. Said shoulders became slightly hunched as his enormous arms became a little longer than a humanoid's should be, giving him a stooped stature. A long tail, bestial and demonic, tipped with its own tuft of flame hair, snapped around behind the god. Razor sharp talons extended from the tips of his fingers.
Finally, Ruin's face stretched forward, giving him a slight muzzle and somehow making his already terrifying face more hideous to look at. His mouth twisted with it, becoming wider and filled with fangs, especially the two that curved up and out past his deformed lips. Two small but impressive horns curled out of his temples, one on each side of the scar on his forehead, curling up into his fiery hair.
A deep, vibrating growl came from behind Ruin's clenched teeth, one hand holding his barbaric sword and the other gathering a black void of arcane power. The vile energy's opposite welled forth from Hylia, a bottomless pool of soothing energy pushing back against the dark, oppressive atmosphere Ruin's presence carried. An equally powerful rush coursed through my divinified body, fueled by the unified force of countless heroes forged into one soul, the pure white Master Sword in my hand lashing out against the shadows that tried to hide from it.
We stood there; three gods revived anew to clash one last time. And nothing moved.
Everything moved.
With twin yells, one more monstrous than the other, Ruin and I shot towards each other with blinding speed. Our swords, pitch black and purest white slammed together, sending white hot sparks flying everywhere. Despite our differences in stature and size, we were evenly matched. That changed when the hideous monster brought his other clawed hand to the hilt of his sword, pushing harder until I was losing ground. But I wasn't alone, and a golden blast slammed into Ruin's side, briefly erasing all the shadows in the temple with its brilliance. The beast was knocked slightly off balance, just enough for me to swing the Hylian Shield up and knock the black and red sword away, ducking easily under the redirected jagged edge. An off-handed cut at the annoyed god's leg did nothing except glance off the multitude of rough edges that served as natural armor.
I retreated to try and regain my pose, but Ruin was already ready, pursuing me. A burst of divine speed got me the distance I needed and gave the Goddess an opening. A storm of holy needles pelted the giant, not doing much more than annoying him and slowing him down a little. But it gave me the time I needed to plant myself and dump energy into the Master Sword. A phantom blade extended from the end of the sword, burning with blessed power as it came slamming down on the monstrous god.
Ruin's strength wasn't to be underestimated though. The hateful creature encased his free hand in blackness and used it to catch the spectral sword coming at his head. His hand smoked, but he pushed away before I could do any real damage. A funnel of shadow crashed into my chest, unleashed from his outstretched hand, knocking me away. A blast of light cut it off before it pushed me too far, allowing me to land with bent knees and launch myself back into the fray.
The battle raged around the temple interior, tearing millennia old stone to dust. I would have cared more if I hadn't been so focused on destroying Ruin, who seemed to be violently against the idea. His enormous bulk should have gotten in the way in the somewhat enclosed space, but his blows didn't feel like any ounce of strength had been held back. They crashed against the stone and my defenses, chipping away at both. I was forced to prioritize avoidance instead of blocking, the limits of my own divine power made apparent by the furious god's terrifying strength.
Both of us made mistakes, so driven by our need to crush the other. We shrugged off most of them, power dulling anything except the fight. Still, it was only thanks to the Goddess that fought with me that I could hold on. Even against the brilliance of the Master Sword, Ruin's darkness was potent. Blasts of divine light were quick to disperse the worst of the black magic though. His vicious sword could have shredded me if it wasn't for timely shields that appeared to stop or at least slow incoming strikes.
An unknowable amount of time into the fight, I made a mistake. Even with incomprehensible amounts of power, Ruin still managed to pull the same trick on me, getting me turned around and away from Her. He launched a barrage of dark energy at me, the shockwave hitting me full force when I was too far away for any sort of countermeasures. By the time I recovered, he was already on the attack. Hylia was far from helpless, conjuring a thin and shining blade of light out of nothing to block the overhead swing from his evil sword, but the message was clear in her struggle. She couldn't withstand the brutal strength of the dark god, but she was also my best tool against his black energy.
Rushing to get back to her, I ran up Ruin's hunched back. He noticed me immediately and spun to throw me off. I managed to hold my balance for a few more steps before losing my footing. Ruin was quick to take advantage of my airborne body, a massively clawed hand cutting through the air towards me. It was too big to twist and dodge and if I didn't get out of the way, it would hit me full on. Not even I would come away from that unscathed.
Acting on instinct, I pressed my foot down. It hit a surface there, brittle and flexible, just enough for me to redirect my momentum. I barely squeezed out of the way of the enormous claw aimed for my shoulders, the force I gained from the unexpected foothold barely enough to save me. Focused on a point on Ruin's monstrous head, I once again felt the surface underneath my boot, letting me launch myself at the god's face. The beast roared in pain and annoyance as the Master Sword scored a cut on his brutish half-muzzle, chipping at one of his teeth.
"PUNY WHELP!" he roared, swiping at me in the air, which I dodged again with ease, even managing to put some distance between the two of us and landing next to Zelda.
"We need to get out of the temple; we don't have enough room to maneuver," she said, her voice humming with the calm and intensity of a storm about to break. I didn't say anything, just nodded and stepped to the side to avoid a pitch-black beam of magic. The goddess at my side unfurled her wings, more intricate than ever with ancient words written on the feathers, and soared up through the huge hole in the roof. I followed after, stepping on the momentary surfaces in the air to gain height. Zelda cast a trio of golden spikes at Ruin on the way, ensuring the roaring monstrosity of a god would follow us.
Hylia and I cleared the roof of the Forgotten Temple just in time for Ruin to follow us. He clawed his way out, digging his deadly claws into the ancient stone to gain purchase on it. In a moment, his full mass was out of the temple, black, grey, and red hide seeming to absorb the stray beams of moonlight that entered the canyon. The two of us didn't stop to admire his monstrous body but instead continued to pummel him from afar. Hylia shot wave after wave of blessed power at him while I blasted golden lightning from the tip of the Master Sword, fueled by the limitless power of the Triforce. The abomination took the hits for a moment, wounds carving themselves into his body, before he roared and a barrier of darkness appeared to absorb our attacks.
"I WILL BURN YOUR SOULS INTO ASH!" the God of Destruction screamed, two enormous wings growing from his hunched shoulders. The were the exact opposite of Zelda/Hylia's, bony and skeletal, with grey, leathery membranes forming the wings. Pulses of red energy rippled through them as he spread them, tracing patterns resembling faces twisted in suffering. Each slow flap shaking the air with the force behind it, easily lifting the hideous body attached to them. The dark god steadily rose up towards us, forcing us to move further away and higher in order to keep our distance. "YOU WILL FEEL NOTHING BUT THE ETERNAL EMBRACE OF DARKNESS AND MISERY!"
The wrathful cry was followed an instant later by a huge, rippling beam of blackness, winding through the air like a snake made of the void. Hylia threw up a hasty barrier, just enough to deflect the energy. I tried to do the same with the Hylian Shield, but the energy zipped around it and burrowed into my side.
I couldn't stop my grunt of pain as the evil power dug into my side, only to be quickly banished by a swing of the Master Sword. Still, the attack had done its job and I was wounded. My godly power kept me from feeling most of the pain, but the injury persisted.
"Link! Are you alright?" Hylia asked, her voice a soothing potion that momentarily erased my pain. "Hold still, let me heal you," she said, luminous energy winding out of her hands towards the wound. I had to push her away, shaking my head no. She would spend too much time and energy healing it, neither of which we had enough of. Already, Ruin was flying at the same height as us, his sword raised to swat us out of the sky. Calling on the Triforce again, I jumped forward, feet stepping on thin air, and swung at his huge leg, forcing him to retaliate and block.
Our dance resumed, the third dimension we now had available to us adding complexity to our battle. I found myself with the greater advantage in the air, able to use my considerably smaller size to get in Ruin's blind spots and avoid his powerful but slower attacks. His sword was less effective in the air where he didn't have a solid surface to anchor himself to in order to get the crushing force he had battered me with earlier. As such, he relied more on magic, sending out arching blasts, seeking missiles, and powerful shockwaves to keep me at bay and occupied. Zelda did what she could to mitigate the attacks and bombard their enemy with her own, but Ruin continued to shrug off the attacks, even if the damage they were doing was accumulating on his body.
I did what I could, darting in to score more cuts on his body, trying to target his wings as much as I could. Missed attacks of light and darkness crackled through the air, discharging their power into shadowy and blinding lightning. The light of our battle was likely visible from miles away, brilliant and terrifying. I continued to dart around the monster, but just as Ruin's magic continued to miss me, I couldn't land a strong enough strike.
"We need a decisive strike," Hylia spoke in my mind, either reading my mind or coming to the same conclusion on her own. "Don't let him move and give me a minute." Acknowledging her with a thought, I leapt back towards hatred incarnate, managing to cut away a few more grey and red scales, the torn off pieces evaporating into vapor, before having to move to avoid his backswing. I dove back in, not letting up even when Ruin's dark blade ripped at my arm and hastily raised shield.
"MOVE!" I finally heard Hylia cry, and I wasted no time doing just that. A second later, a massive sword bearing a slight resemblance to the Master Sword, forged of pure light and power, raced past me and buried itself in Ruin's left shoulder and torso, cutting through where the heart would have been. The beast screamed as his arm went dead and the holy power burned into his flesh. I tried to get in to deal more damage, but his sword, swung with his undamaged arm, came hurtling my way in a pain-fueled frenzy.
"I WILL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!" the evil god howled, pointing his barbed sword at us, the blade glowing malevolently. It seemed to burst apart, the black teeth that formed it swirling around the molten red spine, leaking dark power. Ruin swung his transformed sword, the razor sharp edge pieces diving at us like a hail of knives. Zelda tried to knock them away, but they pierced through her magic like it was nothing. I had to throw myself in front of her, Hylian Shield raised, to block them. The lustrous metal of the shield somehow managed to block or deflect the entire wave, but my arm resonated from the force of the impact.
From behind my shield, I watched Ruin bring the spine of his sword down on the golden one in his shoulder, scattering it into motes of light. A second later, he swung it at me and Zelda again, sending the swarm of knives at us once again. We fared better, Hylia focusing her magic down into thin lasers that eradicated individual shards of the blade storm. I did the same with the Master Sword, the fragments of the God of Chaos' sword melting into slag at the touch of the divine blade. We were able to take our time, Ruin's magic hindered by the loss of functionality in his left arm.
Once the whirling tornado of shrapnel was reduced slightly, I broke away from Hylia, baiting the magically propelled sword fragments into following me. I surged through the air, knocking more of the pieces away while simultaneously attacking Ruin's less protected left. His strength was flagging, told clearly by his increased fury.
"I'll strike him again and we finish this," Zelda's voice came in my head again. She retreated further away from where Ruin and I clashed, hands raised to the sky. An enormous amount of power began accumulating in the sky, another golden blade taking form, at least three times larger than the first. I blocked Ruin's retreat, holding him in place, both of us knowing that if the sword fell, it would cripple him.
But I noticed too late that the evil god was conjuring the entirety of his own power. With a monstrous face burning with the wrath of eons, he turned and roared, a gigantic laser of black power ripping from his open mouth. It arched towards Hylia, who was too absorbed with creating the divine sword to move even as she saw it coming. My soul screamed and I blurred, moving with all my power to push her out of the way. She was thrown clear as I followed behind a second too late.
The edge of the beam burned across my back, the black energy coursing across my body. I didn't try to restrain the howl of pain that left my throat, barely having the presence of mind to force myself further away. I nearly fell from the sky, only held up by Zelda until I managed to summon my power again. I looked up to see Ruin's face decorated with a snarling, malicious smile. Motes of golden light fell around him, the remains of the killing sword Hylia had tried to conjure and been forced to abandon when I pushed her. My eyes caught on the still present wound cutting into his shoulder and torso, oozing black vapor. The last blast of magic had clearly taken most of his remaining power to conjure.
"YOU THINK THIS IS A KILLING BLOW?" the god asked, indicating his side. "FOR THE MOMENT, PERHAPS. BUT MY CURSE STILL BINDS US. IT MAY TAKE ANOTHER EON, BUT I WILL RISE AGAIN. I WILL RETURN AGAIN AND AGAIN, MY HATE ETERNAL, UNTIL YOU AND THIS LAND ARE REDUCED TO NOTHING. I WILL RISE ONCE MORE! AH HA HAH HAH HA HA!" His laugh echoed through the air, piercing me to my heart with the dark promise it carried. He spoke the truth; if he had come back once, he would surely do it again. My hand gripped the Master Sword tighter, even as pain danced across my nerves. He had to be stopped.
Ruin's laughter hung in the air for seconds after he had stopped actually laughing. His shoulder was spewing more of the evil fog that composed his being, but he had not given up. "BUT BEFORE MY ESSENCE IS SCATTERED AGAIN, I WILL MAKE YOU FEEL THE PAIN OF FAILURE. DIE, KNOWING THAT I WILL BE REVIVED AGAIN, AND THAT YOU CAN DO NOTHING TO STOP IT!" He soared towards us once again, raw hatred burning in his soulless eyes. I released Zelda and charged forward to meet him, our blades locking again, white against red. All the black flanges of his sword had been destroyed, leaving him with the rough, pointed core that resembled a normal sword.
We clashed in the air, our strength on par even as I ground my teeth with pain and he slowly melted into darkness. Sparks flew, our swords grinding against each other. We disengaged, both readying another strike, when shackles of light erupted from the ground, soaring up to entangle the black god's limbs. I saw Zelda straining, arms raised to hold the evil god back. He roared with fury but couldn't do anything with his weakened strength. Not wasting the chance, I readied my sword and leapt forward one last time, letting out a short yell as I thrust the Master Sword deep into Ruin's forehead.
The chains of light disappeared, but Ruin wasn't moving anymore. He and I were both still as the pierced god slowly began to fall, the Master Sword slipping from his skull. He stared at me, defeated but still smiling as he began to freefall.
"See you later, Hero," he said, sadistic smile on his face as his eyes closed and he plummeted towards the ground. The words settled in my mind, poking me with the knowledge of failure. The God of Destruction and Chaos was dead, but for how long? He had promised to return, and I believed him. He wouldn't give up, not now, not ever. So long as he existed, he would come back.
If that was the price of victory, that was no victory at all.
I looked one last time at Zelda, who was looking at me with a bright, gentle smile. I drank in the sight of her, tears pricking at my eyes. "We do it for her," the voices in my head said, echoing my own thoughts. Without a second thought, I summoned all my remaining power in my sword and jumped straight down.
"HYAAAAAAHHHH!" I screamed, shooting towards Ruin's falling body with the force of a falling star. I saw the god's eyes open, boring into mine. With the last of his strength, he raised his sword, the burning red tip aimed straight for me. I had no time to move, so instead I pushed again, fueling myself with even more force. His sword pierced my chest an instant before I did the same, the Master Sword blazing with purest light, the white energy flickering with gold as I poured the divine power I had been given into it.
Ruin shrieked with agony as the blessed force burned through his body, searching out every trace of his spirit to eradicate. Pain grew in my own chest as his sword twisted deeper, but I didn't stop. Every once of godly power in my body forced itself into the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane erasing the fiber of Ruin's existence. Light began forcing its way out of his disintegrating body, banishing him entirely. He screamed his suffering to the sky, unable to do anything else.
I stared deep into his eyes, rolling with fear and fury, as the last trace of hatred in them was consumed in blistering light. The remains of his body melted away, crumbling into glittering sparks around me as the last of him was eradicated by the last of the power of the gods. I smiled, my heart light despite the remains of Ruin's sword buried in it as I continued to fall. The world lightened at the edges of my vision, everything dissolving into pure white, as the statue of the Hylia appeared beneath me. I saw the Master Sword fall away from me, tumbling in the air, its blade once more glittering metal now that its job was accomplished. I saw it land on the outstretched hands of the goddess, my ears catching at it clanged brightly before the white in my vision closed in around me and everything disappeared.
.
.
.
.
.
She plummeted towards Link as he fell, desperately reaching out to catch him, but unable to reach him before he hit her statue with terrible force. Her eyes were riveted to him, begging him to move. He didn't. She reached out to him with her mind, but couldn't find him. A moment later, she finally landed next to him and ripped Ruin's sword from his body, throwing the foul blade away even as it burned her hands with its evil power.
But she couldn't touch him. If she touched him, she would feel how cold his body was, empty of the life that she loved. His eyes, once proud blue and shining with laughter and honesty, were dulled and flat, unseeing. His heart was still, no longer thumping powerfully in his chest. He looked at peace, she thought, her mind already accepting what her heart refused to believe.
Link was dead.
She didn't hear her own sobs until tears blurred her vision, the harsh sounds of grief echoing through the ancient and ruined temple. She cried for him, the love of her many lives, the very reason she had once abandoned her immortality. Without him, nothing else had meaning. A world without him in it wasn't worth saving.
She screamed with fury, golden power blasting out of her hands and cracking the stone she knelt on. She had all the power in the world, but she had been helpless to save him. He had died for her, she knew. She had been content knowing that Ruin was driven back, but he wasn't. She knew him, knew his soul, and he never would have settled for a temporary victory. He had given his life to erase the source of calamity from the world and now she had to go on without her reason for living.
"No….." she whispered, throat tight with grief. "You don't….you don't get to die…" she said again, getting louder with every word. "Do you hear me, Hero? You don't get to die for me! DON'T YOU DARE DIE FOR ME!" She was finally screaming, her voice cracking and raw. She looked up at the ancient statue of herself and steeled herself. She closed her eyes and finally pressed her hands to Link's still chest. It was even colder than she feared, but she didn't let that stop her.
She pushed past her grief and sadness and reached for the part of her soul that knew Link better than anything. She remembered his smile, his laugh, his calm determination, his passionate kisses. His teasing jokes, always aggravating and endearing. The desire that filled his eyes when she teased him with herself. The soft words whispered to comfort her whenever she felt fear or doubt. The way she felt when his strong arms wrapped around her. The all-encompassing peace she always felt the first time she saw him. The tender affection they had shared across their many lives and the heated embraces that went with them. Thousands of memories rushed through her, different Links and yet all the same goofy, ridiculous, adorable, lovable boy.
She felt the love she held for him, nurtured across decades and centuries and millennia and lifetimes. She held that love, stroked it and nurtured it, adding every ounce of feeling she could to it, until it was a blazing sun held at the core of her being, outshining her own soul with its intensity. She pushed it all down and into his body, filling his still heart with the force of her eternal love. "…come back to me…" she whispered, calling out to the void beyond the world. It sucked away her power, but she held nothing back. The gods could have it all, so long as she had her hero. Her savior. Her Link.
.
.
.
.
"…come back to me…"
.
.
"…come back to me…"
.
.
"…come back to me…"
He heard it again, a voice like the purest bell calling out to him. He didn't know how he knew it was calling for him. Maybe something in the tone? Something that brought out thoughts of warm days, gentle words, and gentler kisses.
"Well, are you going to go to her?" a strikingly familiar voice said from beside him. He looked to see a young man, probably in his early twenties, standing next to him, his blue eyes shining below a mop of unruly blond hair. The man was smiling, despite the cuts that covered him. Blood seeped from them all, but the young man gave no indication of being in pain. "She's calling for you. And we shouldn't leave our lady waiting."
He turned around to find the source of the mysterious voice, but all he saw was a golden glow coming from both sides of where he and the man were. But one of the lights was getting brighter as its source came closer. And suddenly he saw her. Wrapped in gold, with a leafy crown forged of light in her straight blonde hair, the woman walked up to them. She was beautiful, but almost too beautiful. It nearly hurt for him to look at her, but she entranced him nonetheless.
"There's mine, but yours is still waiting for you. She's calling for you." The man at his side spoke again, his eyes also fixed on the approaching woman. The young man reached out his hand to her and they both smiled, fingers weaving together. He felt a lurch in his chest, jealous of what the two had but he didn't. His chest ached as the feeling grew, until it pulled at him like a taut rope.
"Go," the woman said, giving him a smile all his own. It was striking and unearthly in its beauty, but he longed for one slightly different. A playful one as a light fist hit his arm. A soft and gentle one framed by lips swollen with kisses. A bleary one half formed through the haze of sleep. "Go on, she's waiting for you. Go and live for yourselves."
"You have done well, Hero. Go and enjoy your reward." The couple's words hummed in his soul as the pull on it became stronger, tugging him in the direction the woman had come from. He saw the man and woman, perfectly complementing each other, smile at him one last time before they turned and began walked towards the other golden glow on the horizon and he was pulled back into darkness.
.
.
.
.
My body was wracked with pain as feeling exploded inside me. My lungs were empty and I desperately tried to fill them, only to cough at the raw taste of air. My heartbeat pounded in my head and chest, the latter aching with its heavy beat. My nerves tingled everywhere as feeling returned. My ears echoed with the sound of flowing blood, but past that I heard something else.
Gasping sobs.
I blinked to clear his eyes before they focused on the long blonde hair that hung over me. Tears hit my chest through my torn tunic, their coolness tingling on my healed skin. With a trembling hand, I reached up and brushed the blonde hair back, revealing Zelda's tear-stained face.
"I love you," I said, my tongue barely able to form the words. Her sky blue eyes looked deep into mine for countless seconds before she swooped down and captured my lips with hers.
My back still hurt, my chest positively ached, my arms and legs were heavy with exhaustion, and I could still feel my soul slightly separate from my body, but nothing could stop me from wrapping my arms around Zelda and pulling her in closer. I kissed her back with as much sincerity as I could muster through my aches and pains. The taste of her burned in my mouth and on my lips, familiar and heartwarming.
Finally, she released me, our lips parting. The cool night air was warmed by our mingling breaths as we breathed heavily.
"Don't…you FUCKING DARE…ever do that again," Zelda said, stray tears still leaking from the corner of her closed eyes. "I'm not kidding this time. You will never do that to me ever again. Groan in pain if you understand."
I didn't get the chance to question it before Zelda pounded me on the chest, right where Ruin's sword had run me through. I wheezed with pain, fighting to calm my spasming muscles as my body rebelled against me. Once I managed it, I felt Zelda's head drop onto my shoulder, ignoring the blood that covered my chest.
"Good, we're agreed," she said, not sounding mad in the slightest. I wanted to say something scathing in response, but exhaustion clouded my mind, leaving me entirely unable to come up with anything witty in the moment. I settled for a short 'yeah' before just enjoying the feeling of Zelda nestled up against me and the knowledge that we had won. We laid there in each other's arms, barely awake and staring up at the clear starry sky as it slowly lightened with the approaching dawn.
"I love you too," Zelda finally said as the last stars faded. I pulled her a little closer, basking in her presence and scent. We continued to watch as the bright colors of dawn spilled across the sky, wrapped in each other's arms on top of a statue as we finally fell asleep.
YOU WEREN'T READY! HELL, I WASN'T READY! This is officially the longest chapter of this story (as it should be) and I wrote a good half of it today. Because I had to. We're ending this shit. I said before the end of August and I mean it, damn it. It's storming here, the power flickered, my wifi is out so I'm posting this off of my phone hotspot, but we're going to fucking do it! No one stops this train!
I need you to tell me what you think. Please. Pretty please. I need to know if this was as epic as I think it was. I pulled out all the stops for this. The title of the story comes to fruition, the wish upon the Triforce, a clash that literally raises the roof, intense aerial battle, magic, a selfless sacrifice that I hope cements this Link as a hero, a post-death scene that I think I'm happy with, and a heartfelt ending. Not to say this is the end, we've still got two chapter left, but this is end. The rest is wrap up, which should be good and will probably be done within a week. No promises, but I can feel it.
Okay, how about the reviews? Thank you all in advance for doing the reviews, it was great to see. Nightwing, almost! I actually hadn't exactly planned precisely what was going to happen with him in the final battle, but in an effort to show you what's up, I made him a terrifying abomination that any sane person would want to kill. And that's your fault. So thanks, I think it worked out great! Glad you like it. Twilit Lord, INDEED! Cremia did not end up with anyone yet, I might allude to something in the wrap up chapters, but I'm undecided. I gave her closure after the highschool attack, but who knows, she might pop up again. Alfred, just like that, so proud of you. Queen Emily, super glad you like it, I feel the same way about fights, so I really try to make it interesting. I can see what's happening in my head, and it's epic, but that doesn't always translate to words very well. Zelink fanatic, glad to keep you entertained! Basically same stuff as in Emily's response applies, but I'm particularly glad you can see this story as a Legend of Zelda story. That was what I especially wanted to nail in writing this and I'm happy it worked. Oracle, copying stuff is boring! And boring stories don't get read. And I need you all to read this and marvel at my brilliance, so copying is right out! Revival of the Goddess...will get worked on some more. It was never going to be a full copy of this story, mostly because that'd be a huge pain in the ass, but tell you what, tell me what 3-5 chapters you'd want to see from Zelda's perspective and I'll see what I can do. No promises I'll pick those, but I'll certainly do the most popular ones. Princessa, I did try to wrap up...I guess I wouldn't say loose ends, but I wanted to give a satisfying culmination to some different facets of the series. Glad you liked the chapter and hope you liked this one too. SilentTulip, glad you caught up, you picked a great time to do it! Glad you like the fluff, it's certainly my favorite part! And YES! YOU CAN SEE THE FIGHT SCENES! You have no idea how much that means to me. Like, seriously, peak level complement. Hero, nope! Zelda doesn't die, it's Link who gets that bit! Interesting dream though, hope this panned out better. Although...that's an interesting idea... ;)
Probably just going to leave it there. Like I said, next chapter will probably be up in a few days, I'm going to burn through this like nobody's business. 100% effort, 20% of the time (I've got work and stuff, really sucks). And like I said for Oracle, if you have particular parts of the story you'd want to see from Zelda's perspective, drop it in a review. Or if you don't want to have it public, shoot me a PM. Or both! You know what they say, the squeaky author wheel gets the feedback grease. That is how the saying goes, right? Yeah, probably. Otherwise, stay tuned for the final chapters, drop that review, and don't try to catch lightning in a bottle! Because that's not how it works at all! Cheers!
~Aro