Fourteen
The cold was so startling, so violent a change that at first Link thought he had been pulled through a pane of glass, and swept his arms across each other, expecting to feel blood pouring from slashes to the bone. His skin was unmarred, though there was no reason to be relieved, tumbling head over heels through the darkness, no idea where Dark Link was or where he had loosed him to – or even if he would ever stop falling.
//Zelda...// Only a moment of panic, to think her name, and he hit the ground flat, breath leaving him in a rush along with most of his senses, pain and cold enveloping his mind and body for a long, long time.
“Get up. I know you’ve seen worse. I’ve done it to you. Get /up/.”
A wave of wind and bitter cold, tiny shards of ice stinging against his skin as he was thrown across the floor by a blast of magic, slamming hard into another solid wall of ice. The world tumbled, white and black, and as he fell onto his back he realized there were lights here, or some outer wall had been broken away, though the sunlight seemed sickly, strange and wrong through the filter of ice.
Slowly, carefully Link sat up, amazed as he moved both arms and legs that nothing was broken, shield gone but the heavy weight of the Master Sword still a comfort in his hand. His ears rang slightly, body protesting every motion, and he could feel the numbing chill from where the smaller scorpion had bit him, now halfway up to his knee. It would be difficult to fight even a mid-size enemy, and he knew that was not what waited for him here.
Laughter, low and soft and terribly dark, and before Link could gather enough of a voice to shout, or even to convince his body to stop shaking a flash shot out of the darkness, and at first he thought it was magic, couldn’t raise his hand even when the solid shape of the bottle cracked against his head hard enough to make him see stars.
It took a lot to break most potion bottles – but Link couldn’t figure out why he was bleeding if it was whole, pulling his hand away to see it /was/ covered in sticky red, but in too light a shade. A healing potion, stinging like hell where it mixed with the slight cuts in his skin, though even that exposure was starting to seal them closed. The stopper wasn’t tight, but at least half of it remained, Link watching in confusion as it sloshed back and forth in the bottle.
“Need me to explain it to you, hero? I’m not going to fight you wounded. I want you nice and healthy, so I can take as long as I want tearing you apart. Drink up, and let’s get to it.”
The voice could have come from anywhere, glancing off the walls, and as far as he assumed Dark Link could still walk through the icy walls whenever it pleased him. Keeping a firm grip on the Master Sword with one hand, Link downed the contents of the bottle in his other, feeling the ache in his head vanish, along with the chill that had been slowly consuming him, creeping up further in his blood than he had realized. Fighting those icy monsters had been an ill omen for this.
//Zelda?//
Alive, had to be. He remembered an instant of looking toward her as he was dragged backward – she’d defeated the enemy, she would have moved on, and he doubted Dark Link would have bothered with her – at least not while he was still alive.
//You have to fight him, there’s no way out.// Link tried to crush that panicked voice, he’d known this was a possibility, and somehow...
//No way out.//
He set the bottle down and got to his feet. Couldn’t even trust a wall against his back, staring warily into the darkness.
“Come on, then.”
Link managed to keep his voice steady, as if the room wasn’t floor-to-ceiling odd angles and mirrors, reflection upon reflection until his eyes ached. As if he couldn’t feel the chill of evil, even deeper than the freezing cold around them, emanating from Dark Link – every advantage in this battle his.
His double knew it too, Link could hear it in his voice, and maybe the potion was concession to a fair fight but it was clear Dark Link didn’t care so much about that as the inevitable violence. If Link stopped bleeding now, he could simply bleed later, on demand.
“You know, I never understood why it was courage.” The dark voice said conversationally, and Link glanced down, could see the glow of the Triforce, visible now even through his glove. “Power just makes sense, and wisdom – hell, somebody’s got to have the plans, but courage? What is it? Why bother? What’s so virtuous about making the best of a bad situation?”
It was hard to speak, to make sure his voice was steady. “You wouldn’t understand.”
He braced himself, as Dark Link stepped out of the ice again, right in front of him. This time he carried a blade that seemed the double of the Master Sword, dark energy drawn out into a perfect replica of his own sword.
The evil creature sighed, feigning contemplation while the smirk on his face threatened to split it in two. “Maybe not. I suppose I’ll have plenty of time to figure it out after I’ve ripped it out of you.”
It was so difficult to look into that face, all the worst parts of his own nature staring back, taunting him. Dark Link would not be so powerful, would he? If not for all the times Link despaired, or doubted, or hated, and it took everything he had to force himself to keep his eyes raised, to stare into that darkness. To remind himself it was /not/ a pure reflection, but more of Ganon’s twisted...
//No.// Link had only a single moment to see the sheen in the air, and realized that – metaphor aside – he was looking at a reflection, another panel of ice.
He turned, swinging his sword up just as Dark Link brought his own blade down, but there was no time to enjoy his meager victory, his shadow double lashing out with a furious flurry of strikes it took all his skill to parry, and Link knew, whatever happened, this would be their final battle.
-------------------------
It was one of the only things she’d never spoken about with Link, one of the things she’d never talked about with anyone, an idea that had whispered in her ear on one of her many long, lonely nights as Sheik, and had never left her thoughts afterward.
A simple question, really – in the end, where did her loyalties lie? If the choice had to be made, between Link and Hyrule, which would she sacrifice to save the other? Many times, Zelda refused to even consider the question, knowing it was silly to assume it would ever come down to such a choice.
A smaller, quieter part of her was not nearly so certain of that, though thinking about it didn’t help her come to a conclusion, not then and not now, standing in a darkened corridor with an exit in front of her and smooth, black ice like glass behind.
Link was gone, and she’d searched the walls for secret passages, for any sign, but it all came up empty. The instincts that had served her as a Sheikah and a princess told her to step out into the light, to climb the tower and finish the mission – that it was what Link would have wanted.
Still, a part of her heart was quietly urging another path, that if she did not find Link soon there would be no finding him at all.
Zelda still moved slowly toward the light, stepping out onto a small stone walkway, a staircase rising up with a clear view of the higher levels of the tower – and a set of figures, moving high above her, stepping out onto a walkway of their own.
Far up, but if she called to them she knew Impa would hear, that the Sheikah could easily bridge the gap between them, that she could take the lead once more. Retrieve the Light of Order and set the world to rights.
A sudden pain left her clasping at her heart, looking down to see the mark of the Triforce burning against her skin. Link was in terrible danger.
// ... but one life is not worth the lives of your people.//
What if it was Ganon who had captured him?
//You have a duty to rule, before you have the right to love.//
What if he was hurt, or worse, and she did not come?
//You are a princess of Hyrule.//
What if it was Dark Link he was fighting? Alone?
Zelda took a deep, steadying breath, and stepped back through the door, turning toward the darkness and the paths she’d already taken, knowing the Triforce would show her the way. It was selfish, but if she stepped away from Link now when he needed her, without doing everything she could to help, she could never bear to lead Hyrule, to lead a country into a better future by abandoning the one she loved.
//I’m going to find you, Link. Please be all right.//
-------------------------
“Link!? Zelda!!”
Nabooru heard nothing except the slight echo of her own voice. Impa had dropped down after them, the moment they disappeared, and the Gerudo had barely adjusted her grip on the wall, judging the distance to safety, when the princess’ bodyguard reappeared.
“The tunnel is blocked, a stone slab. It was deliberate, that we were separated.”
Nabooru had only heard Impa’s voice so flat, so very angry when she spoke of Ganon’s first attack against Hyrule castle, when she had been unable to protect the King.
“You can’t go through it?”
“It is... difficult.” Nabooru reminded herself that even if the Sheikah was a phantom, she couldn’t see in the dark, let alone through solid rock walls.
“It’ll be all right. Link can take care of her. Hell, with the way you trained her, Zelda can take care of both of them.”
A little work, and she was able to reach the other side, turning to help Ganondorf along while the Sheikah crossed the gap with a few well-placed, impossible jumps. Tossing one last glance – and the best she could do at prayer - toward the darkness, and Link and Zelda, she turned back to the passageway and the goal.
If anything, they moved faster now than before, the need to find the Light of Order greater than ever, time short when Zelda and Link could be anywhere, facing any number of dangers. Nabooru had to work to keep up with Impa and the Sheikah’s pace, even forcing them to slow once or twice for Ganondorf’s sake, though he kept up better than she’d expected.
The hallways were slick, a few more crumbling places in the path, though they were smaller and easy to step past before they gave way. Nabooru’s lungs ached from the cold, she could hear the wind whistling violently around them in the silence. Only a few enemies this high up, and she wondered if it meant they had never been expected to get this far, or if Link and Zelda had always been the true targets.
“Are you certain it is at the top?”
Ganondorf spoke as quietly as he could, following Nabooru closely up another set of steep, curving stairs. Patches of the ground were visible through holes in the outer wall – only blurry and indistinct patches of green at their current altitude, and then the wall fell away altogether, a sharp wind sweeping up, the stairs mostly frozen over.
Nabooru could only shrug in response – she wasn’t sure of anything, except that every instinct she had as a thief was still shrieking, just as it had been when they’d entered, that this was the worst possible course of action they could have taken.
Unfortunately, it was also the only thing they could do.
Halfway up the last flight, Impa held out a hand, forcing the party to stop. It didn’t take much to guess what she was doing, and Nabooru watched as her image faded slightly, enough to render her all but invisible. She didn’t really want to try turning to sand in such a high wind, and watched the phantom take the last few steps alone, straining to hear – voices. Deep tones, and she knew they must be Moblins – damn, Ganon /had/ beaten them here. Impa’s expression revealed much the same as she crept back down, looking at each of them in turn.
“A platoon or more of Moblins, with heavy weaponry – and Ganon is with them.” Nabooru felt her body shift to sand, just for a moment, with the force of her emotions.
“He’s got the Light of Order, then?”
Impa shook her head, and really, Nabooru thought, it was stupid to ask. If he had, he wouldn’t have been here anymore – though there was the question of how he’d gotten here before them in the first place. The nagging voices in her head redoubled their efforts to get her to grab Ganondorf by the collar and drag them both as far away from here as they could get.
Instead, Nabooru took a step past the Sheikah woman, letting her body dissolve just enough that she could disappear if necessary, pressing her body against the bricks to try and avoid the worst of the wind. A small outcrop at the top of the structure gave her a good view of the surrounding area – the large cluster of Moblins at attention in a circle around a group of smaller creatures in dark robes, Wizzrobes of some dark order.
It was easy enough to find Ganon, he towered over all of them, standing in the center of the wizards, and even though she knew every moment she looked was dangerous, Nabooru couldn’t help it. Couldn’t help hating him, what he’d done, taking his peoples already difficult lives and making it worse for his own gain. He was nothing like the Ganondorf who’d joined their side, it was nearly impossible to imagine they could be the same.
// ... and I would guess that’s the lake of ‘shattered glass’ then.//
The Wizzrobes appeared to be casting spell after spell across the surface of a large, iced-over lake, the edges suspended weightlessly over the edge of the tower, the impossible sight well in the range of believability after all she’d seen. In the center of the lake there was a pillar, dark magic glancing off its protective wards, and on the pillar was a gleaming, golden cup. She could see a steady glow rising up from within. Not exactly a ‘Light’ and the goddesses only knew how the ‘Order’ part would work, but it was obvious Ganon was trying to break through the shields surrounding it, and if he wanted it, it was clear they shouldn’t let him have it.
Carefully, not even breathing, Nabooru slipped back down to where the others were waiting.
“It’ll be rough. If the chalice is shielded from evil, we should be able to take it, but... it’s the getting there that will be a problem. The Moblins are one thing, but... with Ganon there...”
Impa stared back. “Do we leave, then?”
After a moment, she realized it was a serious question, Zelda’s bodyguard and the rest of the Sheikah and even Ganondorf were staring at her, waiting for her decision. Why they thought she was capable or justified in making the call was inexplicable. Nabooru chewed a little at her lower lip – the Moblins and Wizzrobes would be easy enough to handle, but Ganon... without Link and the Master Sword on their side...
//Is it that you don’t think you can defeat him, or at least get the Light and get out – or are you just afraid?//
Nabooru had been knifed, burned and nearly eaten rather than back down in the face of terrible odds and admit her fears – this time was no different. Jaw set, she glanced at the Sheikah. “I’m expecting you to deal with the Moblins and the Wizzrobes.” She grinned. “Sorry there’s not something more interesting for you to do.”
Feline eyes looked at her impassively, but she could see their claws were out, and the sound of purring was just loud enough to be heard above the wind.
“I will distract Ganon for as long as I can.” Impa offered. “It will not take him long to discover I cannot fight him, but it may give you a few moments extra.”
Nabooru pulled the gloves she’d been wearing off her hands, flexing them in the cold. “It’s all I need.”
“What should I do?” She’d forgotten about Ganondorf with the sudden surprise of being in charge, and Nabooru ignored the pang in her chest, the thought that if they were successful, he would not be there to celebrate it.
“You stay here.” Nabooru said, pushing him back against the wall, a finger to his lips when he was ready to protest. “No, you’ve got a piece of the Triforce, and we can’t risk Ganon getting his hands on you.” Which he would, if this ended badly, which Nabooru was increasingly certain it would. Ganondorf was still unhappy with her decision, brow furrowing, but when she pulled her hand away he did not argue. Smiling sadly, Nabooru leaned forward to kiss him – Impa and the Sheikah would just have to avert their eyes.
“Let’s do this, then.”
Nabooru crept up the stairs as the Sheikah leapt off the winding steps entirely, crouching flat against the building, claws dug in deep as they moved into position, the Moblins standing guard near the edges of the building completely unaware of the growing danger. With a last glance in her direction, Impa swallowed and pushed into the wall, and Nabooru had to have faith that she would find her way out again, to draw Ganon’s fire at the right moment.
The signal was silent, the Moblin at the opposite end of the tower suddenly pitching forward without a sound, and Nabooru waited for the second body to fall before she lunged forward, keeping her eyes on the Light of Order and letting everything else fade to chaos around her.
The remaining Moblins were roaring, but it didn’t last long, Nabooru ducking and diving only a few bolts of dark energy from the Wizzrobes before the Sheikah leapt forward, taking care of them as well. She took her eye off the gleaming cup just for a moment, and saw Ganon watching her, the smile on his face and in his eyes and utterly malevolent.
It was nearly enough to make her fall, even if she was more gliding than running, the edges of her boots dusted in sandy gold. She saw him raise a hand, and prepared to roll away, hoping she /could/ dodge when he turned sharply, as Impa lashed out, feigning an attack.
The lake looked damn near impossible to cross, but Nabooru had been through worse, lava beat out ice in her opinion, even if this lake didn’t have a bottom. She didn’t dare look behind her, only hoped Impa and the Sheikah could keep them busy for just a few moments more. She grimaced, bits of sand pulled away by the swirling winds as more and more of her body had to shift, to keep from sinking through as she skipped from one ice fragment to the next, some no bigger than the front of her foot as she moved, nearly on tiptoe.
Nabooru heard a shout, she could feel the rise of dark energy just behind her, and leapt forward as the blast of power exploded in the water underneath her. Stretching out one hand for the prize, and already trying to judge just how to turn, how fast they could get back down the tower and out, just in case the Light of Order needed more to work than her complete desperation.
Nabooru watched her fingertips pass through the chalice, and shut her eyes, just for a moment, able to chase the shock of utter defeat with the realization that she wouldn’t have long to regret it.
The ‘Light of Order’ hadn’t just been a long shot. It was a trap.
-------------------------
Link let his head tip back, resting for a moment against a spire of ice that he prayed was too small for his opponent to pass through to attack him. It was strange, looking around the room, to realize that even if he still couldn’t make sense of it, it was familiar, they’d been fighting forever in the same small room. What did Dark Link need with a larger room, though, when it seemed he could attack through any surface save the floor?
//Please not the floor.// Link grimaced, glancing down anyway. He tried to breathe quietly, difficult when it was hard to breathe at all, arms shaking just a little from the weight of the Master Sword. The slight respite was surprising, Dark Link had not stopped his assault from the first moment he’d tried to stab Link in the back, and recent memory was only a frantic rush of strikes to block – he’d gotten very few chances to fight back – as the edge of that dark blade came at him from every angle, Dark Link leaping in and out of the shadowed ice with no effort at all.
Link could still see where his last strike had connected – not with his opponent, but a wide crack where he finally thought he’d found a weak spot, only to discover he was fighting his own reflection. Dark Link had cackled loud and long at that, as the recoil of the blade against solid ice sent sharp pain along his entire arm, and he’d nearly dropped the Master Sword.
The echoes of his laughter were still in the air as Link glanced warily from wall to wall, listening carefully for any sound behind him, wondering where the next attack would come from.
“You do know you can’t win this, even if I let you defeat me.”
Dark Link was gloating, his voice a soft, smirking purr, because he knew that even though his opponent was not down, he was not uninjured either. Link swore he could feel the sting from the slight cuts he’d taken grow sharper every time the evil creature spoke.
“Destroy us, hero, and we’ll keep coming back, smarter and stronger. A different guise, another trick to gain power – or just the stupid, blind fear of all those you think deserve your protection. We’ll win, we always win in the end, and your children’s children will face the same endless battle.”
He laughed, and Link whirled, trying to follow the source of his voice, to keep at least half a swordlength away from the painfully narrow walls.
“Just another Hero – do you know how many there have been, who fought so bravely against the darkness, just to lose at the last? Until one day they realize that they’ve done nothing but become the thing they fought so hard to kill.”
He saw the perfect darkness of the blade emerge, sliding out of the wall at throat-level, and brought the Master Sword up to block, bringing the sword around in a curve to catch the second strike before it could slice him open. The maneuvering forced him back, and Link had only a moment to realize he’d gone too far toward the other wall when a hand swung out from behind, clutching his throat, jerking him into the air.
Link heard his sword hit the ground, and even in the dim room his vision was going dark, a glimpse of red eyes and Dark Link saying something in that unchanging, gloating tone. He lashed out, clawing at the hand that held him, but Dark Link’s grip was like stone. Just as Link wondered why he hadn’t been run through yet, he caught a glimpse of brightness out of the corner of his eye, spinning as he was flung hard – maybe this /wasn’t/ the same room he’d been in.
He didn’t remember any open walls, any places where Dark Link could do what he just had - simply tossing Link over the edge, and watching him fall.
He only had a moment, to see the plunge coming, and then everything disappeared in a white flash of pain, a crushing blow against his head and neck, and Link wondered how he could feel himself fall to the ground, how he had fallen so fast to the bottom of the tower, hit solid ground in midair.
//It didn’t... ice...//
Link coughed, the air burning at his lungs as he took great gulps of it, vision clearing even though the stabbing pains. Dark Link was still speaking, saying something that sounded vaguely disappointed. He must have meant to throw Link off, and this time even he hadn’t realized it wasn’t an empty space, but another wall of ice. Still alive, then, but Link could hear footsteps coming closer, and he realized his dark double had grown weary of the game.
He had to reach the sword, it was his only protection and his only chance at survival, and so Link put everything he had into clearing his vision, steadying himself on shaking limbs and pushing past the pain to focus. He was still down, and with any luck Dark Link thought he was still recovering, too hurt and confused to realize that his enemy was standing over him with his sword raised high.
Link rolled, twisting as the dark blade came down, lashing out with a sweep kick that would take his double’s legs out from under him, giving him a few moments to scramble to his feet, lunging to where the Master Sword lay. He heard footsteps behind him – and then Dark Link was in front of him, charging, the sword coming down just as his hand touched the hilt, and Link rolled, slipping against the ice with the blade up, hearing the hiss of steel against steel as the blades slid against one another, and then he was free – if only free to slam into the wall behind him with bone-jarring force.
“Not bad, hero.”
Of course, Dark Link didn’t even look winded, no slashes or blood marking the places they did on Link’s tunic, and as he brought his sword up and rushed forward again, Link wondered just how long this could continue, that soon he would have to fumble, and when he did he was dead.
//Maybe...//
Link deflected the first strike, swinging around as Dark Link stabbed at him again, and again – and just for a moment Link had the initiative, no longer blocking but demanding his double counter, pushing him back against a pillar, forcing his hand – and with one final lunge, Link was able to grab hold of the charcoal tunic, flinging them both back through the dark wall.
It had shocked his double, Link was sure of that, as certain as he knew it would be fatal to let go now, to spend forever tumbling in this black abyss between worlds. Luckily, the evil creature was too surprised to do more than thrash a bit, and Link did not let go until a sudden flash of brightness ripped his hold away, sent him sliding across a different floor.
It had been his hope, that they would land in another room – preferably somewhere with an exit. A quick glance confirmed that this was not where they had been, though he could still see no pathways out, couldn’t spare the extra moments to determine what was ice and what was air. They had landed in a round room, with a tall, thin pillar at its center, and no way for Link to tell if it was above or below where they had been.
A soft sound brought him back to the present – Dark Link was clapping, a victorious smirk on his face.
“Oh, very good. hero. Marvelous.”
He stopped clapping long enough to point up, and Link flicked his eyes skyward, had to do it two or three times in place of a horrified stare at the hundreds of swordlike icicles dangling from the ceiling.
Dark Link slammed the pommel of his sword against the wall, just to prove the point, Link scrambling backward as several spears of ice broke away, driving down into the spot he’d been standing. Feeling ice against his hand – the wall behind him – Link turned quickly, surprised that he could tell the difference between the hairs on the back of his neck raising from cold, and the sense that Dark Link was behind him, sword at the ready with red eyes burning murderously, the only thing in this place with any trace of heat.
Once again, he was on the defensive, not nearly quick enough to strike first – especially with the constant fall of icicles, having to split his attention between the battle and the constant cracking, though Dark Link seemed easily able to navigate both. Link hissed, as a falling shard slashed at his shoulder, and fell back a few steps, the hot blood dripping down his arm only making him aware of how cold he’d become. His twin was still smiling – he never stopped - casually flipping his sword from hand to hand.
“What’s the next plan, hero? It must pain you so, to know your death won’t stop any of this.” He chuckled. “You shouldn’t worry about Zelda, I’m not /allowed/ to touch the Princess, that will all be Ganon’s privilege.” He stopped, a mocking parody of contemplation. “I wonder how well /she’ll/ fly?”
He lashed out, catching Link’s shoulder just below the ice wound with another deep cut, sliding him back across the slick floor as he cradled the wounded limb as best he could. Link’s gaze fixed on the spot by sheer accident, but felt his mind clear out of the pain haze, at the sight of several icicles that had fallen near the central pillar, creating a bramble of spikes that just might... it wouldn’t stop Dark Link, but if it could slow him down, just enough...
Link knew he couldn’t slow the fight, couldn’t try to keep in one place or risk giving away his entire plan. All he could do was keep circling the pillar, listening to the icicles break around him, watching the point of the sword that seemed sharper, somehow, now that it had tasted his blood, and hope for a chance. His double gave no quarter, every blow designed to take a limb – or his life – with it, and if he could take any pride in the battle, it was that Dark Link was angrier every second that he didn’t fall.
“You won’t last, hero. I’ve been waiting for this since my first breath – destroying you is the reason I was created.”
A massive chunk of ice, the size of a small tree’s trunk, calved off, landing behind the evil creature – and just behind that was the weave of icy spikes that held what was likely his last chance. Link rushed forward, let the dark blade take a little more of his blood as he blocked badly, turning his shoulder against Dark Link’s chest and shoving as hard as he could. His double’s heels connected solidly with the shattered icicle, and Link watched him flail for balance, falling backward and landing dead center on the pile of shards. It wasn’t enough to kill him, but Link ignored that, ignored the peals of laughter as he rose to his feet and moved forward.
“It’s over.”
Dark Link was unimpressed. “If it is, it’s for the both of us.” A sharp crack punctuated his words, and Link looked up to see that the central pillar had cracked with the sudden impact, a long diagonal that left the two pieces barely balanced, shifting – and above that, every icicle in the cavern trembled, a wall of swords dangling above his head.
“I’m... the only thing holding all this together.” He chuckled again, and gestured at the Master Sword. “You want to skewer yourself, you go right ahead.”
He laughed, already knowing Link wouldn’t, that this would end in yet another draw and before long they’d both be on the top of this tower, fighting this battle out one more time, only this time there would be more of his friends to get in the way, maybe even Zelda. Ganon couldn’t do anything, if by accident -
The chuckle stopped abruptly, turning into a wet, choked sound, and Dark Link looked down in confusion at the hilt of the Master Sword, jutting from his chest, pinning him to the pillar of ice. Smashing it, really, all the icicles on the ceiling already starting to shiver and crack from the blow.
“You asked me once, what courage was.” Link said softly, and stared into the eyes of his twin, and twisted the blade sharply, the pillar splintering, starting to fall. Dark Link screamed in fury, throwing him across the floor in a rush of shadowy power, lashing out in a futile attempt to dislodge the blade.
A roar, as most of the ceiling gave way, but there was no chance of getting to his feet, let alone reach safety in time. So he didn’t bother to look up, and kept his eyes on Dark link instead, watching the shadows thrash and writhe and finally vanish, a thin gray mist that quickly faded to nothing. A threat nearly as great as Ganon, now banished from this world.
He never felt the impact, really, just brilliant pain as his vision exploded into red and white and black. His head hit the ice, warmth spilling out of him from everywhere, all at once. It was difficult to think, but he could still regret – this was the victory he’d feared, not the one he’d wanted.
He had done his duty to his princess. Link hoped Zelda would forgive him, that he couldn’t do more.