The expected blow never came. Link glanced down, shocked, to see Ganondorf's blade lodged in his shield. The blow was powerful enough to actually cut through the metal, yet it resulted in the sword sticking where it was. Seizing the opportunity as Ganon attempted to free his sword, Link leapt forward, sword arcing out in a blur of steel. Although hampered by his slightly shorter reach, the blade still carved a shallow trench across Ganon's chest. He screamed in pain and rage, jerking his sword free in one swift motion. Still bellowing, the massive man swung a wild backhand blow, telegraphing it from a mile away. Link, seeing it coming, raised his mangled shield, catching the blade of light on it in a spray of sparks and molten metal.
The force contained behind the blow lifted Link off his feet, sending him crashing into the closest pillar. Just before striking the unyielding stone, Link raised his sword arm to protect his head. His arm, taking the brunt of the impact, broke with a sickening snap that echoed throughout the chamber. Hissing in pain, Link looked at his now-useless arm, seeing a patch of white where the shattered bone had punched through the skin. Breathing heavily, he dropped the twisted chunk of metal that was once a shield, switching his sword to his right hand. Although semi-ambidextrous, Link preferred using his left hand for most things, including swordsmanship. He had trained with his right arm in case his left was incapacitated, but possessed nowhere near the skill level he usually had.
He charged at Ganon, left arm clutched protectively against his chest, refusing to give him even the slightest respite. Ganon, sensing Link's weakness, batted his sword aside with a contemptuous blow. Before Link recovered, Ganon locked blades with him, then spun his blade in a circle, removing Link's sword from his hand. The sacred blade spun up in the air, flashing as it reflected the light streaming in from the broken windows. Without even looking at it, Ganon caught it in his left hand, ignoring the burn of the hilt as the sword attempted to reject him.
Link looked toward the window, noting the light that streamed through the stained glass. He had been defeated, all was lost, and yet the sun continued to shine brightly, as if the heavens themselves were mocking his defeat.
Link glared at The Thief King defiantly, making no attempt to flee. "You think you've won," he spat.
"Oh, but I have," Ganondorf replied. He struck out with both swords, forcing Link to jump back. "With their hero gone, all of Hyrule, and the Twilight, for that matter, will have no choice…"
He kicked Link in the chest, sending him to the floor in the most painful way possible. Link sucked in a breath and yelled as the impact jarred his broken arm. Ganon leaned forward grinning wickedly. "But to bow down to me," he finished.
Raising his massive foot, he stomped on Link's chest as hard as he could. A great whoosh of air escaped Link as his chest was stoven in, most of his ribs snapping.
"No!"
The voice echoed from the chamber. Ganon looked around, confused. It could not have come from Link, who was hardly in any condition to breathe, let alone yell. He became even more confused when a burning fist picked him up and threw him across the chamber. He stood, coughing, amid the rubble of the wall he had shattered with his impact. As the smoke cleared, he immediately understood.
Midna had raced as fast as she could through the castle, following the sound of Link's combat. However, the castle, built to repel invaders, was built like a maze, and Midna frequently got lost, the trail of bodies having stopped. Each time she ran into a dead end, or raced into a hallway she had seen before, she cursed, regained her bearings, and charged ahead. As a result, she missed most of the battle, charging into the throne room just in time to see Ganondorf smash his foot into Link's chest. "No!" she screamed, flinging a spell of devastating power at Ganondorf. This was a spell so powerful, even Zant feared using it.
She had only used it one other time in her lifetime, when an assassin had attacked her. Without thinking, she had hurled the spell at him, unaware of what it did. The spell separated the man's life force from his body, his mortal form immediately collapsing into ash. His screaming had rung in the air for hours as his separated life whirled around the room, attempting to rejoin its body. Finally, the screams had faded, leaving the throne room quiet once more.
This was the spell she hurled at Ganondorf. The tall man was flung across the throne room like a ragdoll by the force of the spell, smashing into a wall. To her shock, he got back up, seeming none the worse for wear. "Your people possess some skill, which has been useful to me, but they lack true power," the man gloated.
He held up a clenched fist, a design composed of three triangles glowing on his hand. "The kind of absolute power those chosen by the Gods wield."
Midna advanced, positioning herself between Ganon and Link, ignoring Link's gasped pleas to save herself. Seeing the way Midna stood protectively over Link, Ganon grinned. "Shadow has been moved by light, it seems," he murmered.
He advanced, knocking Midna aside casually, ignoring the bolt of energy she flung at him. Midna hit the floor hard, the breath in her lungs leaving her in an audible gasp. Ganon looked over at her. "This is a fortunate turn of events," he gloated. Not only can I eliminate the hero-" He spat the last word out, layering it with contempt. "But at the same time…" He reversed the Master Sword, sheathing the other, clenching both hands around the hilt of the sword of evil's bane. "I can break his shadow."
With that, he slammed the Master Sword down, driving it into Link's chest and the stone floor below. Link screamed as the sword speared through him, the blade cold as ice, yet hotter than a thousand suns. He screamed as he experienced an agony no sentient creature should ever experience. He screamed as he suffered a wound he knew to be fatal. His scream petered off into a gurgle as his lung filled with blood. He was barely aware, through a haze of pain, that someone else was screaming.
Midna screamed as Link was impaled, a scream with no words, just an incoherent howl of grief. Ganon stood up, leaving Link impaled on is own sword like a bug in a collection. She continued her wails of grief even as Ganon seized her arm. Grinning maliciously, he brought the sword of light forward, making a small nick on her palm. Midna screamed again, in agony this time, as the light power in the blade burned through her veins, attempting to scour away her shadow form. Ganon withdrew the blade, still grinning, leaving Midna warily eying the blade, panting. Why won't he stop grinning? she thought just before he cut her again, and her world once again dissolved into pain.
Midna's scream cut through the fog of pain that had wrapped itself around Link's brain. He wished he could do something to help, but the sword in his chest held him down. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving around the sword. How easy it would be to just give up the struggle, to slip into nothingness…Midna screamed again, even louder than the last. It seemed impossible that such a small frame could create such a sound at such an impossible volume. At this, Link surged back into consciousness with a feral growl. He closed his hand around the hilt of the sword, the wolf taking over one last time. He strained to remove it, pain attempting to blast him away. Snarling, he pulled harder. A red veil descended over his vison as the blade began to move. Finally, a stab of purest agony, a gout of blood, and the sword was in his hand.
Link somehow managed to stand, wobbling slightly, as blood poured from his horrific chest wound. He took a step forward, and his shattered arm swung, knocking against his leg. He closed his eyes as a blast of pain shot through him, finding the strength to remain standing. He knew that if he fell, if he even sank to his knees, he would never rise. He forced himself forward, sword held in his right hand, his eyes focused on one thing and one thing only: the unprotected back of Ganondorf.
So focused was Ganon on torturing Midna that he didn't notice as Link tugged the sword out of his chest and stood. But Midna noticed. Her eyes remained focused on her hero the entire time. Even through the repeated torture of the sword of light burning away everything she was, she continued watching him. "I grow weary of this," Ganon said. "It is time for you to die."
He drew back his arm for the fatal stroke, and faltered. An arm clad in green had snaked around his throat, pulling him towards Link. Ganon stiffened as the blade of evil's bane sprouted from his chest. Link's hand had been shaky, but his aim was true: the sacred sword punched through the exact spot the blade of light he now wielded pierced him so long ago. Ganon screamed, as the ever-present light energy in his unhealed wound drew strength from the power of the sword and began eating him away. "Die," Link growled, giving the blade a brutal twist, dragging it through Ganon's body. Blood pumped over Link's hands as the sword severed Ganon's posterior artery, shredded his intestines, cut through the inferior vena cava.
Ganon threw back his head and screamed as flames composed of pure light burst from every pore. The jewel on his head shattered from the heat of the fire, yet his robes remained whole. He thrashed and screamed, no longer recognizable as the King of Evil, just a screaming, man-shaped column of flames. As his body was obliterated, his eyes began to see something else. Zant, his faithful servant, was standing at the front ranks of a crowd of people. With a sickening lurch, Ganon recognized them as the ones he had killed over the years.
Moving as one, the crowd raised an arm, index finger rigid, pointing at Ganondorf with all the authority of fate itself. Then the laughter began. Zant was first, his insane cackle cutting through the air. Then the rest of them began to laugh, laughing as the bringer of their doom screamed and burned on the other side of the veil of death. They laughed as he screamed, their final tribute to the king of darkness.
At their laughter, Ganondorf's heart, hardened by years of slaughter, finally shattered. He bowed his head, and wept for all his wasted opportunities, his mistakes, his misdirected passion. His tears were immediately consumed by the inferno his body had become. For the first and last time in his life, Ganondorf felt remorse. Uncaring of the flames that continued to consume his body, he wept, covering his flaming face with hands reduced to charred stubs. With a final cry, his body was rent into pieces, each fragment of his shattered spirit drifting in a different direction. The flame went out. Ganondorf, sworn enemy of Hyrule, was finally dead.