Zelda seized Link's arm and tugged with force.
"This way! Hurry!"
The tower shook as stone cracked and wrenched apart. Link and Zelda rushed down the staircase. The windows shattered in their frames. A low roar was building from the base of the tower, punctuated by crashes as chunks came free.
The entire structure buckled underneath them. Link stumbled, flinging out a hand to brace himself on the wall.
"Zelda?"
The princess released her death grip on Link's forearm and righted herself. "I'm fine," she gasped. She grabbed a fistful of her dress, then reached back and plucked a dagger from Link's belt. She hacked at the hem, ripping and tearing until she could move without hindrance.
Handing the knife back to Link, she hurried down the stairs. At the bottom, their path was blocked by a wall of boulders.
"Stand back," Zelda advised. She lifted her hands and summoned her magic—the rockslide barrier exploded outward, clearing the way.
Zelda moved ahead without hesitation, but Link's ears picked up the sound of the threat before she saw it.
"Zelda!"
A ReDead shrieked, its harrowing cry chilling Link down to the marrow. Zelda froze midstride, the fear paralyzed in her gaze.
The emaciated form of the ReDead rose from the corner where it crouched in the shadows. Link blocked its path to the princess, brandishing the glowing blade of the Master Sword.
The creature struck with alarming speed, its clawing hands reaching for Link's face. Its eye sockets were empty, emotionless, but its jaws were stretched open as it howled in desperate hunger.
Link hands felt the shick as the blade pierced skin. The ReDead cried out.
As it crumpled to the floor, its spell broken, Zelda was freed from the temporary paralysis. She released a breath, pushing her hair back from her face with shaking fingers.
Link searched her eyes for any ill effects. "Are you alright?"
Zelda gulped, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Yes, thank you. We need to keep moving."
She started to move away, but Link laid a hand on her shoulder.
When she turned to him questioningly, he said, "Let me go first."
She obliged, and Link led the way. As they hurried through the tower, stalfos and other dark creatures blocked their way, uncaring of the danger. None of them were a match for the Master Sword.
The structure continued to deteriorate, forcing Link and Zelda to double back, blow through blockages or jump over gaps in the floor. The layout of the rooms he'd already seen were useless to Link as the entire map had shifted. All they could do was keep moving to the lower levels and hope there was an exit.
Link's fears were confirmed when they reached the lowest level and found it in complete rubble.
"We'll have to create an exit!" Zelda shouted over the rumble. Above their heads, the tower's top was beginning to collapse inward.
A hunk of stone hurtled down, striking Link in the shoulder before he could lift the Hylian shield.
"Link!"
Dazed, Link tried to get off the ground. Zelda's hands wrapped around his shoulders. She tried to pull him to safety, but a shower of boulders was coming in the path of the first.
Link blinked the dust from his eyes and threw up his right arm. Rocks smashed into his shield, deflected. Grunting from the pain, Link used the heels of his boots to help propel himself backwards. They collapsed in exhaustion underneath a chunk of wall.
"Hold on, Link."
Zelda left his side. An explosion rattled Link, breaking through the noise and chaos of the tower's collapse. Using the sword as a support, Link got to his feet.
Zelda returned, hauling him outside. As fast they could, they crossed the Sages' bridge. Link let himself stop only when they were some distance from the tower. Tremors raced through the earth, splitting it open. With a spectacular crash, the final remnants of the tower fell. A shockwave of energy burst out, showering the entire valley in ash.
Link and Zelda surveyed the smoldering ruins, a mist of dirt on their faces and clothes.
"It's finally over," she said, her voice hoarse.
Link sighed, weariness and relief pulling at him. From the corner of his eye he spotted Navi hovering nearby and lifted a hand. She dropped into his palm, exhausted.
BOOM.
Zelda gasped. "What was that?!"
The sound had come from the rubble. Looking over his shoulder to ensure Zelda was safe, Link passed Navi to her and grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Cautiously, he walked towards the tower's remains, listening for the sound once more. A few more steps, and it sounded again.
Behind him, there was a hissing sound, and heat bloomed on his back. Spinning around in alarm, Link was greeted by a wall of fire that stretched between him and Zelda.
"Stay back!" he warned when she took a step forward.
She hesitated but nodded once. Navi flew over the flames and landed on Link's shoulder.
"I won't let you fight alone again," she promised him.
The fire encircled the valley, enclosing Link inside a circle with the ruins in front of him. At his approach, a dark shape shot out of the rubble and into the sky.
Link's jaw loosened as he took in Ganondorf, his eyes burning like molten gold, his breaths raw and heavy.
The king's limbs contorted, drawing back, as if invisible strings were drawing them from their sockets. Ganondorf let out a scream of rage and torment. His bones broke with awful cracking sounds, reforming as his body began to change shape, growing and bulging.
In place of the Gerudo king was a monstrous creature. It stood half as tall as the tower it stomped on. Its pig-like snout was decorated with huge, deadly tusks, its wide head set with horns. Its hide was thick and rough, covering hundreds of pounds of muscle. Standing on hind legs, it held in human-like hands two blunt, heavy swords.
The beast glared at Link with demonic yellow eyes and roared, the force of it ringing in Link's ears. With a sharp strike that belied its huge size, the monster disarmed Link, throwing the Master Sword from his hand outside the circle of fire.
The blade spun in an arc, narrowly missing Zelda, before planting itself in the scorched earth.
Link ducked a follow up swing, taking cover under a fallen turret.
"Navi!? Does this thing have any weaknesses?!"
Link's shelter was wrecked with one hit from those giant blades, burying him in debris. Scrambling out of the way, Link tried to think of any weapon he had left that could help him.
On the other side of the flames, the Master Sword's shining blade was dark. The embodiment of evil was trying to crush him into so much dust, and the Sword of Evil's Bane was out of his reach.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Link relied on speed to get him to the next pile of rocks where he could hide. The beast stormed after him, swinging wildly.
Risking the opening in his defenses, Link rolled beneath the creature's hooved feet. As he began to stand, the beast's tail whipped around, catching him in the ribs. Tossed aside, Link crashed into a boulder with a pained groan.
"His tail, Link!" Navi bobbed furiously. "Go for his tail!"
Link resisted making a snarky comeback about his lack of weapons. The monster, Ganon, was readying a charge.
Link grabbed for his hookshot. It would have to work.
The speared end hit the beast in the neck. It squealed, hurt and stunned. Thick, dark blood poured from its wound as Ganon grabbed the chain and yanked it free, tossing Link's hookshot aside. Enraged, it lifted its right-hand blade, swinging in a vertical arc.
Reacting, Link darted to the right, but the beast was ready. With its other hand it swept the heavy blade in Link's path.
Struck by the blunted edge, Link's breath was knocked out of his body. He collided hard with one of the collapsed turrets and slumped to the ground.
He didn't get up again.
~oOo~
Watching from above, Fierce remained still, unseen by anyone in the crater left by the remains of the charred, ruined castle. The sight of the blackened valley, the ring of flames illuminating the battle, conjured familiar memories that he would rather forget.
A chill, harsh wind barrelled through, sweeping his cloak behind him. His armor seemed to rattle from the punishment, though he knew it was incapable of breaking.
Below the ridge he stood upon, the situation was bleak. Zelda stood just outside the flames, trying in vain to counteract them using her magic. For her, Link had been knocked down mere seconds ago; but for Fierce, every moment was an eternity. The beast was howling; its cry echoed through the crater as it turned on the fallen hero.
"It's time."
He had heard her approach. He let out a quiet sigh. "Time for what?" he asked.
Ever blunt, she walked around to his side and looked him in the face. "It's time to act. Intervene. I don't think I have to remind you what the consequences will be if he dies."
Fierce looked away. "No," he said simply.
Her jaw tightened in frustration. "You can't be serious."
Taking a deep breath in, he raised his head to meet her eyes. Her eyes were twin emeralds, burning with barely contained fury. Her long hair, as green and soft as forest shade, was tied into a braid that hung over her shoulder.
"I will not interfere."
"And why not?" she demanded, crossing her arms.
"I can't change the course of events, Farore."
Her brows drew together. "You can. And you must. If you don't, he will die."
She gestured below. Link hadn't regained consciousness. Zelda was still unable to penetrate the wall of flames that blocked her. Behind her, the blade of the Master Sword glinted in the light from the fire. The monster, Ganon, was rearing up on its hind legs, its giant tusks swinging like scythes as it shook its head side to side.
Fierce closed his eyes, remembering a similar beast he had faced. In his mind's eye, he saw its tusks swinging towards him, threatening to slice him in two. He remembered the creature's impenetrable armor, deep blue and unbreakable. Fierce reached up and placed a hand on the breastplate of his armor. His fingers ran over the waning moon he had etched into the surface; a reminder.
"No," he said again, opening his eyes. "If I interfere with this, all will be ruined."
Farore stepped in front of him, cutting off his view. "If you do nothing, the line is broken and Hyrule falls into decline. My sisters and I did not pour everything into the creation of this world to see it fall apart so soon."
Fierce couldn't help a smile. He cupped her face with his hands, smiling fondly. "I chose you for this, my dear, for a reason. You create. I destroy." His voice grew morose as his hands slipped from her face. "The last time I interfered for the sake of the world, I did not save it. The world decayed and died...as this one will someday."
Long ago, an impossible choice had been his burden. End the world, or let it be destroyed forever. Fierce had given the world a chance at rebirth. The land now known as Hyrule had been forged in the ashes of his destruction.
"How long are you going to allow the past to haunt you?" she asked in a low voice. When he didn't respond, she spoke more forcefully. "You cannot allow your past actions—actions that were necessary and unavoidable—to dictate your decision now."
Fierce closed his eyes, shutting out her stubborn expression. As if to mock him, his premonitions pushed their way through the barrier he'd locked them behind. In his mind he saw the events as they would transpire should he stay standing where he was.
Ganon charged, the massive tusks slicing with deadly accuracy. They impaled Link, tossing him into the air like a bloody rag doll. Unable to fight, to defend himself, he crashed to the ground. Broken ribs inhibited his breathing and prevented him from calling out as Zelda ran to him. The flame wall gone; her path was clear. Ganon watched maliciously as she cradled Link's body in her arms. Blood stained her gloves as she attempted to revive him, but he was beyond help.
His eyes drifted close, and that was the end. Her scream shredded the night; her agony rang in the god's ears. Ganon let out a bellow, triumphant at last. With a final swipe, his tusks tore straight through her. She was gone before she landed next to him, her arm still outstretched.
In that moment, the line was broken. The bearer of the Triforce of Courage had died; the golden relic left its host, no longer protected. Hyrule's decline would begin. Heroes would rise to fight her battles and defeat her evils, but they would never truly possess the power of the gods again. They would never be able to truly conquer the blight of evil.
And then the world would meet its demise. It would fade out as if it had never been. Once again due to his actions. Only this time, there would be nothing left. No future.
Fierce wasn't a deity, or a hero. He was a mortal who had been gifted with powers he still didn't fully grasp after millennia. The ancient Goddess had given him a gift that day; gratitude for his sacrifice. But in he'd also lost so much. He'd become a being of calamity, just like the demon he'd fought against. He was a shade of his human self, the ghost of a warrior full of regret.
His eyes opened and fell on Link's unconscious form. He'd foreseen the events of today; predicted the turning point in Hyrule's history. They'd been his reasons for leaving the Sacred Realm for the world of mortals, hoping to alter the course of time in his favour. He'd soon realized that had been a mistake.
So much destruction had been brought because of his presence. The faces of the people he'd ruined flashed in his mind's eye. Naron, a sword run through him as he collapsed to the floor in front of his young son. Shaiya, bleeding from her wounds as she desperately tried to keep her infant alive long enough to reach safety. Sienna, her eyes staring into nothing but darkness. Dark, his tormented soul threatening to rip him apart from the inside out.
He saw Zelda, her strength evaporating even as she fought for her life, the life of her Hero, and the entire people of Hyrule.
Finally, his eyes came to rest on Link, the boy without a fairy. The boy without the home, the family and the life he should have had. The boy whose life had been stolen from him, yet he'd still stood up and taken hold of the sword. Taken hold of a destiny he hadn't chosen. Link had selflessly heeded the call when no one else could, and he'd seen it through to the end.
The world needed Link.
Fierce's feet began to move, sliding down the incline without his express orders. Passing the princess, he crossed through the barrier of fire, into the circle of battle. As he turned his head, he saw the tears running down the princess's face.
The beast before him roared, unaware of his presence, ready to take the final strike. Link lay still, covered in the rubble of the crumbled tower. His cuts were deep; he was beginning to pale. Carefully, Fierce knelt beside the Hero, placing a gauntlet-covered hand on his chest. Leaning close, he whispered words into Link's ear that he wouldn't remember hearing.
"I change your fate today, because Hyrule is in need of a worthy champion." He paused, unable to stop the waver in his voice when he said, "Do better than I have done."
Farore knelt in the ash beside him, sliding her palm beneath Fierce's. Releasing Link and rising to his full height, Fierce stared down the behemoth. Time crawled. The monstrous Ganon was readying his final attack.
Farore's softly spoken words went unheard by any but the two gods. Under her palm, Link's heart thumped, falling into a strong, sure rhythm. The worst of his wounds closed themselves, allowing his blood to flow freely again. Fierce turned to watch as color returned to Link's face, and his eyes opened.
Fierce reached behind his back, his fingers closing with determination on the hilt of his weapon. He flourished it before the beast. Twin blades, twisted into a figure eight, they had been carved from the tusks of the legendary beast. The sword would not break.
Time was beginning to quicken. For the shadow of a moment, Fierce allowed Ganon to glimpse him. Bright, pupil-less yellow orbs fixed on him, betraying the beast's alarm. Spinning, Fierce raised the mighty sword high, bringing it down in a decisive arc. The power of the blade hit the flames surrounding them, causing them to fizzle out.
Shock filled Zelda's face in the next instant, but she didn't wait for an explanation. Seizing the Master Sword's hilt, she yanked it free from the ground. She half-ran, half-stumbled to where Link was now recovering.
Without a word, unseen by the pair, Farore retreated. Fierce paused to watch as Link stood tall, raising his sword in challenge as Ganon paced uneasily.
Backing away from the scene, Fierce looked again into the creature's face, its glowing yellow eyes seeking his out.
"It's over now," Fierce whispered.
This time, he knew he saw the fear lurking in the beast's eyes.
~oOo~
Zelda pressed the Master Sword's familiar hilt into Link's palm. She stayed close behind him, her hand clutching the fabric of his tunic while his free arm he used as a barrier between her and Ganon.
The beast was snorting, pawing the ground in agitation. Its head shifted as it stared off at something behind them before returning focus to Link. It threw back its head and howled into the sky.
Link's mind was clear, and his body felt strong. His heart beat fast in his ribcage, but his hold of the sword was sure.
Fatigue wore on him like a heavy cloak, grating on his injuries. Fear formed an icy lump in his stomach, but it could not pierce his heart.
Link rushed the beast before it could charge, the soles of his boots breaking through the layer of ash.
Trusting his instincts—and the quiet wisdom from within the Master Sword itself—Link dodged every blow Ganon had, weaved his way under the creature's defenses.
Acting on Navi's advice, Link attacked the beast's weaker tail. The Master Sword's power crawled its way into the beast like an infection, slowing eating away at the evil energy within.
Weakened, panting and snarling, Ganon finally fell to its knees. A beam of light engulfed him—Zelda's magic. Ganon howled in rage, thrashing as it was brought to the ground.
Zelda, her hands outstretched, held on, her face pinched in effort. "Now, Link!" She met his gaze for a moment. "Before he breaks free!"
Link looked back at the beast, on its belly, its teeth snapping, tusks swinging.
Zelda's hands dropped as her strength failed her. "Sages," she gasped out, one hand held against her chest. "Help us."
Pillars of light shot down from the sky, each one a beacon in the night. The six, one for each Sage, formed a circle around Ganon, closing in until it was surrounded by light.
The beacons stretched out, linking together to reform as one. Their brightness grew until Link could no longer look, holding his hand in front of his eyes. A high, faint hum rent the air, deafening him.
In the place where Ganon lay, the Sages beacons were churning into a vortex. Crackling with ferocious magical energy, it threatened to suck in Link, Navi and Zelda.
Link dug his heels in, slamming the Master Sword into the ground and using it as an anchor. With his free hand, he found Zelda's and clutched it tight.
The humming grew louder. The wind howled. Link's hold on his sword loosened.
Calm sprung between them and the vortex. The winds stopped. There was silence.
A blue crystal barrier had formed around the two of them, protecting them. Link and Zelda watched the pure white cyclone continue to ravage the ruins, but its power didn't touch them.
Blackness threatened the edges of Link's vision. He fought it, but it was no use.
Unconsciousness pulled him under, and he knew no more.