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They say there are five stages of grief.
Denial.
“No, I refuse to die here!” Daruk swings towards the blight, his arms trembling under the weight of his weapon. It dodges, retaliating by sending a large ball of flame towards the Goron Champion. Daruk feebly activates his broken shield, flames licking his skin through the many cracks. Despite his tough exterior, the fire burns right through it, a harsh sizzling sound reaching his ears as blisters begin to form. He pushes back against the ball of fire with a grunt, the flames dissipating around him. Despite living near Death Mountain since he was but a pebble, beads of sweat run down his face as he feels the heat around him for the first time in his life. His chest heaves as he gasps for air in the midst of the heat and smoke. The blight watches him as he desperately tries to gather his strength. He could tell it was mocking him, hovering and staring at him with its bright blue eye.
Deep down, Daruk knows that he will die there that day. His knees wobble. Patches of skin are raw, tufts of stark white hair sullied by blood and grime. The chain that he once carried with pride and strength lay broken in pieces around him. And yet, the mantra echoes in his head: I will not die here. The little guy and the princess are relying on me. The blight summons another ball of flame in its hand, this time running its crooked fingers along the weapon it wielded. It comes fast at him, swinging its axe. Daruk activates his shield just in time as the weight and heat of the attack causes him to stumble to his knees. I won’t die here. The axe begins to melt through the shield, drops of it burning his face and arms. All of the sensations around him-the hiss of his shield above him, the blight’s shrill screeching, Rudania rumbling in pain below him, even Death Mountain’s deep grumble-begin to overwhelm him as the inner seed of realization is implanted.
I refuse to die here.
As the axe makes its way through the shield, Daruk wonders if tomorrow would be kind enough to grant him another chance.
Anger
“You think that you could overpower me ?” The Rito warrior sends another volley of arrows towards the blight, ending with a bomb arrow. It screeches, recoiling and grasping at its eye after the critical hit. “I’ll show you what a Rito warrior can do.” Revali flies circles around it, sending arrow after arrow and preventing a chance of recovery. Despite the constant barrage of arrows, the string of his bow remains taut. It has never failed him before. Landing as the smoke clears, Revali waits to see if the blight has finally been taken care of. The removal of this pest needs to be done as quickly as possible in order to position Vah Medoh to strike Ganon. He scoffs at the thought of his support position; he could be at the castle fighting Ganon right now.
Unfortunately for him, his thoughts leave him caught off-guard as a bright blue laser aimed straight at him clears through the smoke. Revali activates his gale as quickly as he can, but it is not enough as the laser pierces straight through his leg. He staggers in the air as he lets out a guttural scream which travels throughout the warm orange sky. Revali flaps his wings desperately to regain balance. The blight lets out another screech, its tone sounding more like laughter. “ You will pay for that! ” Revali growls at it, anger coursing through his veins. It gives him the adrenaline he needs to send another volley of arrows at it, even if the pain of his leg brings black spots and a haze in his vision. More lasers come his way, most of which Revali is barely able to dodge. Many are close, too close , close enough that he can feel the thrumming of the energy through his feathers. Another beam clips his wing and the esteemed Rito warrior, known for his talents whilst in the sky, crashes down in an unsightly manner, a wispy trail of smoke following him. Only the monster and its victim are witness to the several cracks that echo as he lands. The blight nears him slowly as if Revali will catch him by surprise and attack. As much as Revali hopes to do so, he cannot. His wings are contorted in an unnatural position, bones poking through the feathers. Revali imagines that the pain would be excruciating. It should be agonizing. And yet, he finds that he cannot feel anything at all. Even the burning sensation of his leg is gone. He settles for glaring straight into the eye of the blight. If looks could kill, it would be dead ten times over.
A red beam points straight at his body and as the laser is fired, Revali can’t help but feel angry at himself for being so pathetically weak.
Bargaining
“Were things really meant to happen this way?” Mipha whispers to herself as she faces the blight that plagued Vah Ruta. It throws another spear in her direction. She swiftly dodges and lunges towards it, her trident in hand. The malice flies up to avoid her hit, sending another spear as she is airborne. Twirling in the air, Mipha attempts to dodge the spear, but fails to do so, the sensation of a deep cut burning her side. She stumbles as she lands and quickly moves to heal her injury before the next attack, the calm azure aura a stark contrast to the sickeningly blue of its eye. Running strategies through her head, Mipha finds the battle not in her favor. The blight can hover up to the ceiling to avoid any potential hits. She cannot risk throwing her trident at it lest she loses it or it is too far for her to regain. Meanwhile, the blight is able to regenerate countless spears. She grimaces at her situation. If only there was something she could do. If only she had come more prepared.
It sends a volley of ice towards her. Her wound not fully healed, Mipha staggers as she dashes between them. Though water surrounds her, it is too shallow for her to dive and maneuver through. An ice cube manages to strike her and Mipha nearly feels herself collapse out of pain. She leans on Vah Ruta’s walls, grasping her injured side. The bitter cold that permeates in the room renders her dominant arm useless as the scales harden, making it difficult to move. The blight moves closer to her, another spear at its disposal. The Lightscale Trident is a few feet away from her, having dropped it earlier. It is too far for her to reach. Still leaning on the wall, she grimly looks into the eye of the blight. It stares blankly at her, having no remorse for what it’s about to do.
Mipha feels the warmth of her blood run down her abdomen before she feels the pain. The cold spreads throughout her body as the essence of her life leaves her. She wishes nothing more than to feel the warm, tender embrace of her father and brother once more. What she would give to do so.
Depression
“I failed you, didn’t I?” Even if Urbosa manages to defeat this blight, half of Hyrule has likely been ruined already. They’ve all lost. There’s no point to her trying anymore. She’s always prided herself as a capable warrior, swearing to protect the others from the dangers around them. Revali. Mipha. Zelda. Link. They’re so young. They do not deserve this. Even Daruk. Nobody deserves this. She knows that they are all fighting their own battles in their beasts. She knows deep in her heart that they are struggling in the same way she is, if they are not already dead. Alas, despite all of her efforts, she failed. She wonders if this is what Zelda constantly felt like. To fail at your duty. Urbosa curses for never having done more.
Urbosa blocks another swipe of the blight’s sword with her shield, jolts of energy raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She counters with a slash, but the blight is too fast. Urbosa thinks of the Queen on her deathbed, the words please protect Zelda escaping with her final breaths. And the Princess, likely terrified as she’s forced to watch her home and kingdom collapse. Urbosa can only rely on the hope that Link is still alive and protecting her. May he keep the promise that she broke.
The blight is a blur, and she could barely defend herself from its attacks. She almost wants to give up, give in, if it’ll make the crushing sense go away. This is not like her to think so. But she thinks of those that she failed to protect and she can’t help but weep silently. There are moments of pure desperation, where she fights back with some small hope that they can do this. A mother hen facing a fox, fighting if it means she will die knowing her children are safe. But it doesn’t matter if she fights the fox, for the nest is empty.
As the blight sends a powerful lightning blast her way, she realizes that that was it. It is too fast for her to dodge and blocking with a metal shield will do her no good. The lightning courses through her body, the smell of burning flesh fills her nose, and she can only hope that everyone will forgive her for her failures.
Acceptance
Link holds on desperately to Zelda’s hand, finding solace in the sound of her footsteps behind him. It means she is alive. Making their way through Blatchery Plain, Link prays to Hylia that they can make it to Hateno, where Impa, Purah, Robbie, someone should be there. Guardians survey the land around them, their incessant beeping echoing through the plain. They hide behind a lifeless Guardian, catching their breath. Link nearly stumbles to the floor, feeling every muscle in his body cry out in exhaustion. He wants nothing more than to rest, but knows he can’t. He needs to get her to safety, so they can-
Do what?
Shaking his head, he ignores the voices that tell him it is all for naught. Once they’re safe-once she is safe-things can be figured out. He turns to Zelda and notes how ragged she looks, her pure white dress stained with mud, her hair tangled in various areas. She looks at him and through the heavy rain, he sees the red that taints her eyes.
“Link…” She frowns before grabbing his hand in reassurance. “We’re almost there. Just a little more.” He nods at her, feeling another swirl of energy before they leave their hiding spot. They surge through, only to run into a group of Guardians, who all point their lasers at them. Link pushes Zelda away, urging her to hide as he handles the Guardians. His joints protest as he dodges and swings, but he manages to defeat all three. The sting of various cuts and burns causes him to sway.
“Link, please don’t exert yourself. You’ll get hurt.” Zelda helps Link up as he gasps desperately for air. “I need you,” she whispers. He hears her sniffle and he thinks back to what she said in the woods earlier. Everyone else is gone. Dead. They only have each other.
Before he gets a chance to recover, another Guardian approaches, immediately pointing its red laser at them. Gripping the Master Sword, something that should be like second nature, is difficult. His wrist shakes, his knees wobble, his chest heaves, he staggers.
There is nothing left for him to grasp at.
“Link…just go. Save yourself.” Zelda grips his shoulders and he notices how she shakes. No, he can’t leave her. “Please Link,” she pleads. “Do not die because of me.” He feebly raises his shield, hoping to muster the strength to protect Zelda one last time. Despite being the embodiment of courage, the thrumming of his heart gives away his fear. The beeping grows rapid, almost matching the pace of his heart. Link realizes, as time slows down around him, that he is okay with dying here, if it means that Zelda is safe. It is a strange thought, as his body screams otherwise. Some part of him wants to live, fight against the clutches of death, while the other has already accepted its tender embrace.
A forceful shove causes him to stumble and a bright glow fills his eyes.
Has he already died and reached Hylia?
As the light fades, he sees Zelda’s hand glowing and a warmth, this one not from her powers, fills his chest. She did it . He smiles as his vision blurs and he collapses onto the ground. Zelda rushes to his side, urging, pleading for him not to die. He coughs weakly and tries to relay his thoughts. It’s okay. I’m dying but it’s okay. He feels her tears intermingle with his own. He weakly raises his hand, hoping to wipe some of those tears away, but finds that he is too far gone. The haze of his vision spreads and all he can see is the golden blonde of her hair. He hears her call his name desperately, shaking his body for some kind of reaction.
It’s okay.
Well I would like to add one more.
Revenge.
Zelda stares straight at the castle, a somber expression on her face. Ganon swirled around, clouds of malice following in his path. The fields of Hyrule are silent, the harsh rain clearing the way for a beautiful blue sky. No Guardians beeped nearby. No monsters tore their way through. It was quiet, peaceful even, birds chirping as if nothing had ever happened.
Ganon stops and stares towards Zelda’s general direction. He knows I am here . He roars, and yet she does not move. She looks towards the Tabantha region and sees Vah Medoh hovering around, a sickening purple glow replacing the gentle blue. Looking towards Death Mountain, she sees Vah Rudania surveying the volcano, it’s colors similar to that of Medoh. Zelda knows that if she could see the Lanaryu region and Gerudo Desert from here, she would see Vah Ruta and Vah Naboris in similar states. Silent tears stream down her face. Everyone was gone. Dead. Link. The Champions. Her father. Likely hundreds of Hylians. All because of her failure. She denies it at first, blaming fate, Hylia, anyone other than her, but she knows it’s her fault. She curses herself for being so weak, so useless , and for being such a failure.
If she had unlocked her powers earlier then this wouldn’t have happened. If she had taken time to come up with a strategy, a Plan B in case things went awry. If she hadn’t studied the relics, Ganon wouldn’t have weapons to rain destruction on Hyrule. Standing still at her spot, Zelda wants nothing more than to curl up in her bed and simply give up. But she’s already accepted her task at hand. It’s up to her to save Hyrule, atone for her mistakes and avenge her friends. Even if it takes her 100 years.
Clenching her fists, she takes the first step towards Hyrule castle.