It finally happened while I was at a strategic meeting in the castle, a few days after our unplanned journey to the Temple of Souls. We were discussing battle plans, when Impa came running into the room.
„Your Majesty, my spies have reported hostile activity right at the border of Hyrule. As per your plan, we have ordered an evacuation of all civillians living outside of the city. We cannot fully assess how fast the threat is moving, so we cannot tell how long we will have to fully prepare-"
„Send out a messenger to the city. Tell as many people as possible to come seek refuge in the castle", Zelda ordered calmly.
„Are you sure there is even enough space here?", I asked.
„It will be a bit tight for a while, but I'm sure most of these people would prefer being uncomfortable for a bit to being dead." Then she turned to Impa again. „Have another messenger tell our soldiers to arm themselves."
„Right away, Your Majesty." Impa disappeared in a flash.
While we got ready for battle, the citizens of Hyrule came slowly trickling into the castle. Luckily, I found my parents among them and quickly handed Gareth to my mother.
„Mama, Papa, I need you to take care of Gareth while you're here."
„Why?", my father asked incredulously. „It's not like you have to fight as well."
I averted my eyes. „...I'm sorry."
„No", my mother said firmly. „You can't put yourself in danger like that. Not with your small son depending on you. You-"
„I have to", I insisted, despite my fear that she was right. „I feel like there is no bigger gift I can give him than a peaceful world to live in, even if it is the last one I give."
„Give him the gift of an alive mother!", she insisted. „He will need you in the future. Do you really want to abandon him? Do you want to abandon all of us?"
I pulled both my mother and father into a tight hug. „I will never abandon you. I love you. And I will come back." When I parted from them, tears were streaming over both of their faces and the last thing I saw before the stream of arriving people hid them from my sight was Gareth with a quivering lip, about to cry.
I'm sorry, my son, I thought. I promise I will be back for you soon.
The people kept coming over the next two days, and Link and I helped the other soliders usher them through and get them situated before we joined the troups outside of the city.
We could see the enemy from miles away; they moved almost like a single mass of dark sludge that only took the shape of thousands of monsters as it came closer. All life withered around them; grass became brown and dry, flowers died. And at the very front of that army stood the man from my nightmares. Huge and muscular, his skin covered in soot-like scales, his hair a dancing flame and his eyes like piercing embers. Demise, King of Demons.
For a moment he seemed genuinely surprised to see an army face him. Not in a fearful way sadly. Then he tilted his head. „Your kind has changed in the past millenia. During my first conquest, you would flee at the mere mention of my name."
„You're nothing but a fairytale who doesn't know when to quit! Nowadays, you barely even scare children anymore", Ganondorf spat.
Demise drew his blade, a weapon that, while twisted and warped, bore a disturbing resemblance to the Master Sword. „Then maybe I need to remind you of who I am!"
Black lightning flashed from the sky, hitting the middle of our army. I rushed forward, creating a shield of ice to capture the bolt.
That was it; he had struck first. That was the beginning… and Goddesses help us, we would see it through to the end.
The fight was fierce; I soon found myself separated from everyone I knew, standing amidst fellow soldiers and keeping the monsters at bay. I could vaguely see Link and Demise circling each other not too far away, but as much as I wanted to, I could not concentrate on that. I parried a strike from one monster, while shooting an icicle straight through the heart of another one. Past me would have been horrified how fighting had become second nature to me.
It felt like there was no end to the creatures swarming us; from the sludge of every slain enemy, another one formed to fight and slowly wear us down.
Fatigue was gnawing on us soon, and when the aching of my muscles became too overwhelming, I closed my eyes and sent a quick prayer to the sky. If this was to be my last day…
Only then I realized that the fighting had driven me closer to where Link and Demise fought. Link was exhausted as well, his armor dented and dirty. Blood pouring from his right eye.
Oh Goddesses, no!
He was too tired… he could not fight like that! When Demise raised his sword, I ran over to Link. If he died, we all would. The hopes of all of Hyrule… no, the entire world rested on his shoulders that moment. He needed to live, no matter what.
No ice I could have created would have been thick enough to fully parry the blow that followed. In the end… I had been useless after all.
I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain.
Then, I heard Zelda cry out:„NO!" And suddenly, everything was light.
Is this what death feels like?, I wondered. But no. I still felt my aching muscles, I felt Link close to me, the cold soil of Hyrule Field… And when I dared to look, Zelda stood between us and Demise, her whole body bathed in a holy glow.
Demise looked at her with a cruel smile in his eyes. „Hylia. It has been too long."
Hylia…? The forgotten Goddess?
„You are not welcome here, Demon King", Zelda spoke in a voice that wasn't her own. „You never will be."
He sneered. „What a pathetic little body you were reborn into. You had to give up your divinity last time we fought. What makes you think that you can defeat me now, after losing so much of your power?"
Zelda… Hylia raised her hand. „The fact that this time, the hero and I do not fight alone."
Like on cue, thousands of fairies came bursting onto the field, as if summoned by the Goddess' hand. And with them came the Great Fairies.
The smaller fairies rejuvenated our injured and tired troups, brought back those who were on the brink of death, even. Then, Volga in his dragon form descended from the heavens, his razor sharp fangs and claws bared and aimed right for Demise. The Demon King could just barely dodge the attack, especially with the fairies distracting him.
However, he dodged right into a huge spike of ice, bigger than anything I could have created. I saw the pale white figure of Yverna in the distance, though she was rapidly fading. The spike pierced Demise's abdomen and kept him in place… a prime target for myriads of arrows. I looked to the sky, where the arrows had been shot from, and found it dark with Rito; armed to the teeth and ready to aid us.
„Don't forget us!" A mix of dark fire and white energy blazed past me and hit Demise, and Cia and Lana followed it onto the battlefield. Cia pointed her sceptre at Demise. „I still have a bone to pick with you!"
Demise broke free of the icicle, but now he was the one who was obviously on his last leg.
„Hah… I hope you will enjoy your dishonorable victory."
I glared at him. „You didn't really expect us to fight fair when you were threatening all we hold dear, did you?"
„Now, hero!", Hylia commanded.
Link got up from his crouching position, Master Sword in hand. „Yes!"
Demise only managed to parry a few more of Link's swordstrikes. The Master Sword pierced him, and with an enraged scream, he crumbled to ashes.