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Chapter Text

When the chain landed in Wild's Hyrule, the last thing they expected was to see the castle surrounded by malice and corruption. Wild immediately booked it to the castle, much to the dismay of the rest of the chain.

"At least wait for us, would you?!" Warriors yelled before taking off after him. Twilight sighed before running after the two heroes.

"Wonder how long until he remembers he can teleport," Hyrule mumbled to Legend, who snorted in response.

"So what do you think it is?" Sky asked. "Because Wild beat Ganon so no way he's back already."

"Maybe we traveled back in time?" Wind guessed. The two of them looked up at Time, who was surveying the scene in front of them.

“What? Do you think I’m able to tell if we time traveled because I’ve done it before?” Time smirked. Sky opened his mouth to respond but chose to remain silent after realizing what Time was saying.

“Well, you are the Hero of Time,” Wind eventually spoke up. Hyrule chuckled at the pirate’s logic.

“Hey!” the three of them turned to see Warriors waiting for them atop of the hill. “Are you all coming? Because we’ve got an issue and it’s not Ganon.”

“What is it?” Wind began to run up the hill, only to stop at the sight of the castle up close. “Woah…” The castle was swarming with monsters and guardians, all corrupted with black blood.

“Where did the ranchhand and trigger happy go?” Legend asked upon joining them.

“They went to see if Flora is okay. Just follow the explosions and you’ll find them,” Warriors replied as an explosion echoed in the distance.

“They can handle themselves,” Time spoke up, “but right now, we have work to do.”

“Try to keep up, pretty boy,” Legend smirked.

“Don’t slip on the guts I leave behind while running to catch up, Bunny.” Warriors flashed his winning smile before jumping headfirst into the chaos. Legend sputtered indignantly as his fellow heroes started laughing.

“You asshole!” The veteran chased after the captain, his sword slashing at anything that came in his way. “Get back here!” A shadow followed the veteran, which went unnoticed by the rest of the heroes.

“Welp, can’t let them have all the fun, can we?” Hyrule leaped off the hill and launched himself at the nearest guardian, his shield ready to parry its beams. The monsters soon noticed the rest of the chain and eagerly rushed to meet them.

--------

Wild and Twilight rushed into the library, slicing the guarding Lizalfos with practiced ease.

“Think she’s in here?” Twilight questioned.

“Well, she wasn’t in her room or her study. The kitchen was empty too and she tends to avoid the sanctum after everything,” the champion explained, “So she’s either here or one of the monsters might have-”

“Hey, Flora’s a tough cookie, if anything, I’d feel bad for whatever monster tried their hand against her.”

“She’d probably kill them all for touching her study.” Wild used his magnesis rune to search one of the hidden entrances in the library while Twilight pushed the other shelf out of the way.

“Oh goddess let’s hope we’re not around when she sees how bad it-”

“Sir Link!” The two heroes spun on their heels, swords drawn. The poor maid at swordpoint shrieked and dropped the basket she was holding. Twilight lowered his sword and helped the maid pick up the spilled contents of her basket.

“Oh, Lasli, sorry about that,” Wild sheathed his sword.

“It’s okay, just- er, why are you ransacking the library?”

“We were looking for the princess,” the ranch hand explained, “You wouldn’t happen to know where she is, would you?” The maid blinked in confusion.

“You mean that was not you in one of your odd outfits?” Twilight and Wild exchanged worried glances.

“Lasli...what outfit was I wearing?”

“The spooky one you scared the princess with last Hallows Eve.”

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath.

“Where were they headed?” Twilight questioned.

“Towards the sanctum.”

-----

“You really are interesting, princess,” Dark Link stood in front of Flora, his sword resting lazily on her neck, “I never thought a wielder of the triforce of wisdom would hate Hylia so damn much.” Flora’s own sword was laying on the ground, just beyond her reach.

“I might not get along with the goddess but that doesn’t mean I would acquaint myself with a follower of Ganon!” She backed away from the sword pointed at her, trying to get closer to her own sword.

“Ganon? Sorry princess, but you have the wrong idea. My comrade is much more powerful than Ganon.” Flora paled at the shadow’s implication.

“So if you’re not working for the calamity, then why are you doing all this?”

“Always so inquisitive. I like that about you. Your predecessors would have just started calling me names and saying ‘Link will come to defeat you!’” he mocked. “But you, you fight back. You ask questions instead of just following whatever destiny damn Hylia has for you.” Flora managed to reach her sword while the shadow had been rambling. However, the princess knew a losing fight when she saw one. The only thing she could do was stall for time until she had backup.

“Is there another dark force asides from Ganon? Or rather, that don’t result from Ganon?”

“Here, let me ask you a question instead. What do you think Ganon was the result of?” Before the princess could answer, the doors to the sanctum burst open and two heroes rushed forward.

Chapter Text

“Time!” Wind hopped over the bokoblin that decided running at him was a good idea. His sword was plunged into the monster’s back and yanked out quickly as the sailor made his way to Time. His amulet was gripped tightly in his other hand, the message he received from Wild still replaying in his mind. As he ran through the monster-infested fields, he collided with a familiar-looking skeleton. The Redead let out its ear-piercing screech, rendering the sailor and the monsters nearby unable to move.

“Shit!” he gritted out. The skeleton crept towards him, its sword at the ready. However, it never got the chance to kill the sailor as its head was suddenly separated from its body. With the paralysis gone, Wind scrambled to his feet in time to see Warriors swing his fire rod into the Redead. The skeleton let out a final, weak, screech before turning into a pile of ash.

“Wind?” Warriors called out, “you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay I’m- wait!” The sailor stabbed the interrupting skulltula. “Wild called me from his slate earlier. Wars, he’s here.”

"What do you mean? Who's here?" The electric chu chu was shot with an incoming arrow, sending a small spark of electricity towards them. Wind pulled the captain out of the way of the electrical current.

"Dark! Who else would I be referring to?! Wild and Twilight are headed right for him!" Warriors paled at the sailor’s words.

“Are you two okay? I didn’t think the chu chu would cause such a large explosion” both heroes turned to see Time making his way towards them.

“We’re good, old man but we need to head for the castle. The champion called. He and the ranch hand are headed to confront Dark Link.” Time gave Warriors a bewildered look. He gestured at Wind, who began his explanation over again.

“They heard it from a maid that he took Flora to the sanctum of the castle. I think he’s baiting them.”

“Get back!” The captain whipped out his shield and deflected the approaching laser, which went sideways (breaking Warrior’s shield in the process) and blasted the guardian Legend and Hyrule were tag-teaming.

“Thanks!” the traveler exclaimed when the guardian exploded in gears and screws. The veteran nodded in acknowledgment before jumping on top of a moblin.

“We need to clear a path to the castle as quickly as possible.”

“Let’s just hope we’re quick enough,” Wind mumbled, which was promptly met with Warriors flicking his head. “Hey!”

“We’ll make it, No one’s dying on my watch.”

“Guys! Incoming!” Four hollered. The three heroes reacted just in time to dodge the giant sword of a black and white Lynel. The smith was on its back, trying to slash at it.

“Shit!” Wind cursed, ignoring the glare from Time and Warriors for his language. “How did you get up there?”

“Sky threw me before some bokoblins started shooting at him! Now would you mind helping me out?” Wind looked between the Lynel and the castle.

“You help Four; the Old Man and I will keep going towards the castle,” the captain ordered. The sailor pulled out a bomb and rushed at the Lynel just as Four was finally bucked off of it.

As Time and Warriors ventured towards the castle, the malice surrounding continued to grow. Just as they reached the drawbridge door, malice crept across it and spat out a swarm of cursed bokoblins and moblins. One of which decided that the captain’s scarf would make for a delicious snack. Warriors let out a choked cry as he was pulled back. Time skidded to a halt upon hearing him.

“Keep going!” the captain stabbed the moblin head responsible for choking him. But more quickly came to take its place. “Hookshot up there, it’ll be faster.” He pointed at the northern tower. The Hero of Time nodded, wanting to ask how he knew that but was unsure that he would like the answer he’d get.

------

“I recognize your fighting style Hero of Shadows,” Dark Link landed a kick right at the rancher’s chest, sending him stumbling down the steps. Wild immediately flurry rushed the shadow, only for Dark to dodge them all. “You seemed to have learned a few tricks from the Hero of Nothing, didn’t you?”

“Hero of Nothing?” Wild glared at him, “Sorry but not sure who you could be referring to there. We’re all heroes in our own rights.”

“Right, right, you guys actually care for one another, forgot about that. Maybe I can use that,” he muttered that last part. “You all call him the Hero of Time.” The rancher glared at the shadow for bringing this up, as the last thing he wanted to do was explain to his predecessor that the first time he met Time, he had been dead already.

“Well,” Twilight staggered to his feet, “I was on this adventure with him.” He performed a jump strike. Dark Link rolled to the side to avoid it, only to be met with Wild holding a bright blue battle-axe that he swung right where his head had been just a mere second ago.

“We both know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Really? Well, then I’m confused as to what you’re referring to.” Twilight kicked the shadow, causing him to roll down the steps of the sanctum.

“Fine. Keep your secrets. But they’ll come out soon enou-” The shadow stood up and got ready to charge at the two heroes again but was suddenly unable to move. ”Really? You think stasis is going to hold me, princess?” Flora emerged from her hiding place holding a sword in one hand and the sheikah slate in another.

“It will hold long enough for us to do this,” Wild had caught onto the princess’ idea, and together, they charged at Dark Link, each of them successfully taking out one of his arms. The shadow howled in pain. The stasis faded as Dark fell to his knees. Twilight got ready to perform the ending blow when the shadow’s discarded limbs abruptly faded into nothingness.

“What the hell?” Wild mumbled. Dark’s pained screams soon turned into hysterical laughter.

“Oh Demise, you all should see the looks on your faces!” The shadow’s arms grew back, each bone audibly snapping back into place.

“Demise?” Flora muttered.

“It’s like you all forgot that I’m a shadow. I can take any damn shape I please.” He cracked his knuckles, “I thought that you would remember that after our last encounter, Wolfie. I do hope you liked my version of one of your Darknuts?”

“Shut up, would you?” Wild equipped his flameblade just as the shadow set his sights on him.

“Make me, hero of fail-” The newly redone windows shattered as the Hero of Time swung through it, kicking Dark Link out the window behind him. Time landed right where the shadow had been standing and retracted his hookshot.

“You got our message,” the champion smirked.

“Of course I did,” Time smiled before glancing at the window Dark had been sent flying through. “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah, but heads up, he can regenerate limbs,” Twilight informed him.

“Noted. Get Flora out of here and if you can get through the monsters and make it back up here, you’re more than welcome to join me.”

“On it!”

“Give him hell, Old Man.”

“Trust me,” Time said darkly, “I intend to.”

Chapter Text

“It will take more than this to defeat me!” Dark Link pressed his sword against Time’s. “You’ve gotten older since the last time we fought. Your skills are a lot more rusty.” The two did battle atop of the remnants of Hyrule Castle. The shadow slashed at Time, leaving a rather large scar across his arm.

“You’ve certainly gotten more chatty since the last time we’ve done this,” Time pushed back, sending the shadow stumbling. “Were you that lonely when traveling through the different Hyrules?”

“And whoever said that I was alone?” Dark Link launched a kick at Time’s knees. But having sparred with Wind, the Hero of Time was too used to someone going for the knees. He grabbed Dark’s foot and flung him into the nearby wall, leaving a rather noticeable crack.

“Unlike you, my comrade is a lot closer to me,” He brushed himself off, “He's the cause for all of this, you know. Although now he’s found a way to end it.” Dark Link immediately blocked the incoming shield attack with his own shield. “And it’s all thanks to you heroes.”

“You never struck me as the cryptic type, Dark. Who else is with you?”

“You’re going to have to beat the answer out of me, Old Man!”

-----

You can end this right now, little hero. Legend paused as the voice echoed in his head.

“Who’s there?”

“Stay focused!” Warriors called as he parried a Lizalfos strike headed straight for the distracted hero.

This endless cycle of death can be prevented from the very beginning. Wild and Twilight stood back to back, fighting against a seemingly endless onslaught of corrupted moblins. Flora was right behind them, using the slate to blow up a group of approaching pebblits.

Don’t you want to know what your benevolent goddess has been hiding from you? Four had split up and was tag-teaming the bokoblins that came near them. Wind had stolen Legend's fire rod and was now committing arson against the approaching Chu Chus.

“Legend, move!” Hyrule called out to him. The hero of Legend regained his focus just in time to see a Darknut bringing its ax down on him. Then, he was on the ground.

And someone else was standing in his place.

“NO!” Wind shrieked. Sky rushed towards them, looking through his things for a fairy. A bomb arrow blew chunks of armor off the Darknut and Hyrule rushed to finish the monster off. A broken sword fell from Warrior’s grasp before he fell to his knees.

“Captain!” Legend was scrambling to catch the fallen hero. His entire torso was covered in blood, the Darknut's axe nearly tearing him in two. “Stay with me okay? We’re gonna fix you up.” The captain coughed up blood and chuckled.

“Won’t be quick enough, Bunny,” he mumbled, “Hold onto this for me, will you?” something was pressed into Legend’s hands. Something soft. Legend looked down at the blue scarf, now matted in blood, with surprise. Warriors smiled at him one last time before his eyes fluttered shut and he slumped forwards.

“War? WAR?! WARRIORS!” He immediately checked for a pulse, only to flinch at how cold he was. “Don’t do this to us, you bastard! You did not make it all this way just to die now you absolute piece of shit! Get up! Get up please!” his voice cracked, tears flowing uncaringly. Wind’s hysterical cries fell to the background as the voice returned, clearer than ever.

Do you see how much has been taken from you? Koholint. Marin. Even the brother that just saved your life. All of them have suffered while that pretentious goddess sat and watched. You can have it all back. You just need to end one more life. Legend froze at the voice’s promise. He could get Warriors back, he could prevent all of this. Everyone could be happy again and-

“Who’s?” he gritted out, his mind made up.

The one responsible for all of this. Hylia.

“Show me the way.”

----

“One down I see,” Dark Link had paused in his attacks to watch as the captain took his final breath. Time stared at the scene below with a cold dread. He watched as Legend frantically shook Warriors, begging him to get up, but to no avail. He watched as Wild held onto a hysterical Wind while Twilight and Flora covered their escape. “He had style, I’ll admit; but like the rest of you, he’s too loyal to his comrades.”

“How dare you. You are going to pay for what you’ve done,” Time growled. Din’s fire exploded around him and Dark Link, causing the shadow to jump back. Using the opportunity, the Hero of Time rushed at Dark, who parried the strike. The shadow sighed and pulled out his sword once again.

“You’re not getting tired of the same sword shield hit and dodge routine?” Time glanced at the battlefield to where the rest of his brothers in arms were. He locked eyes with Twilight and nodded. The Ordonian’s eyes widened in understanding. He yelled something to Wild and Flora before heading back for Legend and Warriors.

“You’re right,” Time reached behind where his shield was strapped and pulled out a mask, “Let’s change that shall we?”

Chapter Text

Remember our deal, Hero of Time, The mask spoke.

“He’s yours,” Time muttered, “Just keep the boys out of it.” The mask slid on, unleashing the trapped deity inside. The double helix sword materialized out of thin air and, in the blink of an eye, Dark Link was on the defensive. The Fierce Deity was relentless in his strikes, causing Dark to take a step back. This continued until the shadow was nearing the edge of the castle.

“Something wrong?” Fierce Deity teased, his voice overlapping with Time’s, “Or did you truly realize how horribly outmatched you are?”

“What is this?” Dark Link staggered to his feet.

“You know as well as anyone that everyone has a dark side. All you have to do is press the right buttons and it'll come out willingly. And I’m the side that the Hero of Time has kept hidden for such an agonizingly long time.” The shadow summoned black-blooded monsters to aid him. “When we got sent on this quest, the hero made a deal with me— and such a wonderful deal it was!” The monsters were wiped out with relative ease, each succumbing to their wounds with an agonized screech. Fierce Deity sliced the shadow’s sword arm clean off.

“Damn that hurts more the second time,” he gritted out, “What did he offer you?” Dark stalled for time as his arm grew back.

“A chance to fulfill my bloodlust. The only condition is that I leave the other Heroes of Courage unscathed. Otherwise, I have free reign.” Once whole, Dark Link created clones of himself and rushed at the deity from all sides.

“Too easy.” Fierce Deity ducked from an incoming blow and swung his blade at another approaching shadow. It disappeared in wisps of smoke. One by one, each shadow clone met an untimely demise until Fierce Deity towered over Dark Link, “Now perish.”

With one swift motion, the double helix blade was plunged into Dark Link’s heart. If there was one there to begin with.

“Now you feel,” Time’s voice spat out as he twisted the blade, “what I felt when your monsters killed Warriors.”

“Even if I die, you’ve still lost, Old Man.” The shadow mustered up the last of his energy to flip the birdie before Fierce Deity pulled out the blade and kicked Dark Link’s body off the edge of the castle.

Time removed the mask and watched as a wave of light cascaded over the battlefield, instantly vaporizing all of the corrupted monsters. With nobody left to fight, the rest of the chain made their way towards where Warriors lay, still. He stumbled a bit, the strain of using Fierce Deity taking its toll, as he too made his way down the broken remains of Hyrule Castle. However, one thing caught the Hero of Time’s attention; where was Legend?

----

“Greetings, Hero of Legend,” Hylia smiled ruefully as Legend limped into the corridor, covered in blood and tears.

“Cut the crap. You know why I’m here already.”

“Very well. Are you sure you wish to go through with this? What will your comrades think?”

“I’m doing this for them. Without your interference, they’ll be free to live normal lives,” he pointed his sword at the goddess.

“You and I both know that that’s not going to be possible for some of them. Just because I’m not there does not mean something else will come into play.”

“But anything will be better than this.”

“We’ll see, Hero of Legend,” Hylia got off her throne and summoned her own weapon, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The Hero and the Goddess charged at each other, the strike of their swords piercing the heavens.

-------

After bidding farewell to Flora and laying their comrade to rest, the seven heroes, tired and weary from their battle against Dark Link stepped through a portal of pure light. They landed in front of a dazzling white palace that shone with the same luminescence as the moon above them. Hyrule immediately saw to helping the wounded.

“We really did it…” Four broke the silence. “Dark’s gone.”

“Yeah, but at what cost?” Wind mumbled. “Wars is-” he choked on a sob “And we can’t find Legend.” The chain went silent at the mention of their missing comrades. Four grabbed Wind in a hug which was soon joined by Hyrule.

“Where are we now?” Wild asked, eventually breaking the silence.

“Not sure,” Sky spoke up first, “But Fi’s reacting to it.” The Chosen Hero’s sword was flickering with light.

“I have a hunch but I’m hoping that I’m wrong,” Time muttered.

“We won’t know unless we go in,” Twilight spoke up.

“Hold on,” the Champion stated. The six heroes turned towards their comrade. “Before we left, Flora told me something. She said Dark mentioned that had a friend with him.”

“He said the same thing while I was fighting him. And that he found a way to end this because of us.”

“End what exactly?” Hyrule tilted his head, “The portals? I thought he was making them.”

“Did he say anything else to you or Flora?” Four questioned. Wild nodded.

“Flora said that two things stuck out to her. The first being the odd question of how Ganon came to be. The second was the name he kept tossing around. She said she’s heard it somewhere before but wasn’t sure where,” He explained. “She wanted to ask you all if you’ve heard it before the portal didn’t give her the chance.” Fi’s flickering suddenly came to a stop much to the other heroes’ surprise. The Chosen Hero paled at both the sword and the information set out in front of him.

“Wild…” Sky began, “What was the name?”

“It was Demise. Have you heard of it?” The Chosen Hero sprang to his feet and took off towards the illuminated palace.

“Wait Sky!” Hyrule called out to him. Wild took off after him. After a few minutes, the remaining heroes had caught up to Sky, who was attempting to get the doors open.

“What’s going on? I’ve never seen you so spooked,” Twilight questioned. The Skyloftian stopped his attempt on the doors and faced his comrades.

“While you all fought Ganon, I fought Demise, the king of demons,” he explained, “When Sun and I defeated him, with his dying breath, he placed a curse on the three of us. He eternally bound those with the spirit of the hero and the blood of the goddess to a battle against an incarnation of himself, hoping that one of them would succeed in his goal of destroying everything.”

“And that incarnation was Ganon,” Time finished.

“Yeah. Only now I’m guessing that his original plan didn’t work so he turned to another method; making an evil version of us to do it instead.”

“But we defeated Dark and his army,” Hyrule objected.

“I know. But Demise was or is stubborn. Since Dark failed, I guess he took matters into his own hands. If I were to guess, we’re in Hylia’s domain and he’s in there.”

“So then why are we out here still?” Wind asked, “You and Sun beat him. Now there’s nin- seven of us. And if this is all because of him, then I have a few things I’d like to say to this guy.”

“You and I both,” the Chosen Hero glared at the palace doors.

“Be ready,” Time warned his fellow heroes as he stepped in front of the large, grandiose doors. With a combined effort, Time and Twilight managed to push open the doors to the throne room and the seven heroes entered the illuminated palace..

Chapter Text

“Holy shit,” Wild and Wind exclaimed in unison. The seven heroes stared at the golden ichor dripping off the veteran’s blade and the body that lay on the ground. Legend was standing over Hylia, catching his breath. Warrior’s scarf, still matted with its owner’s blood, was wrapped around the veteran’s neck.

“Legend…” Four trailed off.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Tears were coming down Sky's face. His grip on the Master Sword was tight enough to turn his knuckles white. “What the hell did you do?!”

"I did you and all of us a favor! No more blessed Goddess," Legend spat, "No more of our lives and families being destroyed in the name of a greater good." Sky was about ready to slay his second god in one lifetime when Hyrule put a hand out to stop him.

"Legend, you just caused the balance to tip," Hyrule informed him. "Without Hylia, we can't seal away any darkness or evil. Which is one thing we need as our fight isn’t done yet. We can fight it, but it's ultimately Hylia's power that-"

"Hylia can do a lot more than seal away the darkness. She got a sick thrill out of watching us fight-” The veteran was cut off by the strike of a sword.

“A sick thrill? Do you even hear yourself?!” Sky pressed the Master Sword against Legend’s protective barrier. “And by killing Hylia you destroyed our families! Our lives!” The former hero of Legend paused, a cruel smirk creeping on him. He pushed the skyward hero back and hopped to his feet.

“Oh, so that’s what this is about. Without Hylia, Sun doesn’t exist. None of our Zeldas do.”

“Wait what?!” Wind cried out, “Tetra too?!”

“It’s not just about Sun,” Sky argued, ignoring the way his heart ached at the realization that would never see Sun again, “You’re saying that Hylia was a strong goddess but she wasn’t always that way.” Hyrule jumped into the fray before anyone could protest. He destroyed Legend’s magic barrier with his own magic.

“You too, Rule?”

“Warriors wouldn't have wanted this if that’s what you were aiming for, you know!”

“Hylia has taken too much from me, from all of us. I’m only doing what’s right!” Legend cast fire at Hyrule, causing him to step back. The hero retaliated with ice magic of his own, surrounding the veteran in an ice cage.

“So taking her place is the solution to all of us?” Hyrule approached the ice cage as he continued, “Leg, I know we’ve all lost so much on our respective journeys, and losing Warriors stung even more after everything. But this all had to happen. There are so many things that would have been worse off if Hylia hadn’t planned-” The room was silent as Legend punched Hyrule, cutting him off and sending him to the ground. The traveler looked up at his predecessor in shock and fear.

“You’re not understanding me. You have magic so I had hoped you of all people would feel what I’m going through. She planned all this yes, but she had so much power that she could have interfered! She could have made it so much easier for all of us! You guys have never seen her magic in action. I just saw it when she was fighting me. The power she had was enough to end the world and make it over again.”

“And even if you manage to remake the world,” someone spoke up, “we all will still be pulled into the fight.” Legend reacted just in time to block the incoming strike of the flaming Biggoron sword. Time leveled a disappointed gaze at the new god before turning to the rest of the chain.

“Are you all okay?”

“We’re good,” Four answered, “You really live up to your namesake with your impeccable timing.”

“Um guys?” Hyrule had brushed himself off. “A quick reminder that Leg is kinda evil now…”

“I’m evil for caring?” Legend scoffed. “I'm the evil one for wanting no one else to get hurt? To suffer as we suffered because of that damn goddess?!” His power shook the entire throne room. It was only by instinct that the heroes managed to shield themselves from debris in time.

“That’s not it!” Four pushed the large piece of the ceiling away from him. “Leg, I’ve seen people attain godhood. I know what that kind of power can do to a person. There’s a reason we’re heroes and not gods.”

“Trust me, you won’t have to worry about me ruining anyone’s lives. The only thing I plan on doing is fixing our lives, turning them back into the way they were before Hylia got involved, then you won’t have to worry about a god ever again.”

“Actually we might have to. There’s someone else,” Wild spoke up.

“The hell you mean someone else?”

“He’s the one responsible for making Ganon and Dark. But the only way to stop him is sealing him away, which we can’t do since Hylia is gone.”

“Tell me guys, do you know what happens when a god dies?” The veteran snapped his fingers and all the debris flew back into its original location. “There are so many answers to that one question but this one is the only relevant one. With the riddance of a god, her enemies would have no purpose, as the one they sought to kill is already dead.”

“I despised Hylia just as much as you did, Legend, but like it or not, this is what will always happen. Her enemies are not going to stop because she’s gone,” Time tried to reason.

“You’re saying that because she bound you- bound us to this fate. Now we can do and go as we please. I can fix everything now!” He grinned as he felt his newly gained power surging through him, “I can give us all a clean slate and we can all live the way we want to, not the way she made us. We don’t have to be Her soldiers in an immortal bitchfight because I’m not going to cause a fight.” The grin morphed into an annoyed expression, “But I can’t do any of that if you all keep trying to kill me.”

“We’re not trying to kill you! This is literally the last thing I want to be doing right now,” Hyrule immediately protested, “It’s just that...Well...If none of us interferes in our respective adventures, wouldn’t Hyrule cease to exist?”

“It would no longer be our burden to bear. Plus if we’re not there and Hylia is not there, there’s no reason for our respective enemies to exist. Hyrule would be safe because it wouldn’t be our problem. And should things go to shit, I can just destroy it all over again.”

“Then you’re no better than Demise,” Sky concluded. Legend let out a small, regretful laugh.

“There’s really no convincing you all is there?” He was met with seven betrayed and sad expressions. The new god’s face darkened, “Fine. Have it your way.”

Chapter Text

Sky charged at him once again, this time using his whip to pull Legend towards him. The Veteran stumbled before grabbing a hold of the whip wrapped around him and swinging it into the incoming Wind. He froze the area around them for good measure.

Two boomerangs created mini tornadoes around Legend, obscuring his vision long enough for Twilight to launch Wild into the air, allowing him to release a volley of bomb arrows. The Veteran dodged each arrow with graceful ease. Four caught his boomerang and rushed at him, using his Four Sword to split up and attack him from all sides.

“Nice try, guys, But you all forget that even before attaining godhood, I had magic too.” Legend grabbed a hold of the rod of seasons and summoned a mini blizzard, sending all parts of Four flying in opposite ends of the room. Hyrule quickly dispersed the snowstorm with his fire magic before sending a wave of electricity at the new god. He absorbed it and sent it back to its sender. However, it never hit Hyrule as it soon merged with the dome of Urbosas’s fury now surrounding the two magic users.

“Get back, Hyrule!” Wild hollered, getting ready to unleash the lightning attack. Before the wanderer could react, a clawshot sunk its teeth into the back of his tunic and pulled him out of range. Twilight grabbed hold of Hyrule before he could crash into him just as lightning rained down on the Veteran. The two nodded at each other before charging at the stunned veteran. Legend quickly shook off the double lightning attack only to be met with a metal ball crashing into his side. Wild met him from the other side and swung his cobble crusher, effectively making Legend a pinball. The new god went flying into a wall of ice Hyrule summoned.

“Okay now you’re all really pissing me off…” Legend grumbled as he brushed himself off. Light gleamed from the Veteran’s hand as an idea came to mind. “Sorry about this, but I need you to stop.” He blasted Twilight with pure light magic. The Rancher roared in pain as the light magic slowly began to destroy his shadow magic.

“Twilight!” Wild exclaimed as he rushed over to him.

“Hyrule, cover him,” Time ordered as he pulled out his great fairy sword and swung. Legend hopped into the air giving Time a smug look as he was unable to reach him now. However, that arrogance was short-lived as a small melody echoed through the throne room.

“No one for you to throw at me now!” Wind yelled as he flew at Legend, causing the latter to dodge. The two circled each other, each trying to hit the other, but missing each time.

“How the hell-”

“I’m literally the Hero of the Winds.” Wind flew above Legend, equipped his iron boots, and drop-kicked him right into the ground. The Veteran shielded himself from the crash with another barrier. The barrier quickly shattered upon impact, leaving Legend on the ground. He rolled out of the way just in time as Wind attempted to stomp on his ribcage with his iron boots. The Veteran scrambled to his feet and glanced around the room. Wild and Hyrule were trying to help Twilight, Sky was freeing himself from the ice Legend had trapped him in earlier, Four was recovering from being split up, and Time and Wind were getting ready to strike him again. An idea popped into his mind, a horribly cruel one. But if it gets them to stop...

“You guys are forcing my hand,” Legend muttered. His hand lit up with even more light magic, causing Twilight to shriek inhumanely as the light burning away his shadow magic got stronger. “Stay back!” He ordered, “Or else I’ll make it worse for him.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Twilight gritted out, glaring at Legend, “You guys need to stop him. This will stop if he’s down.”

“Damn you’re stubborn. I’d stay quiet if I were you, Rancher. I don’t want to hurt you but I will if I have to.”

“You don’t have to do any of this. You’re hurting in more ways than one right now; we all are,” Twilight staggered to his feet with Wild’s help, “And we can fix this, just stop fighting us.”

“I’m sorry but I won’t let you guys stop me,” He looked away and clenched his fist, causing the light to grow stronger. Wild caught Twilight as he slumped forward, passing out from the pain. Time wasted no time in tackling the distracted new god and pinning him to the ground. Legend kneed Time’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Using that small moment, the veteran kicked Time off of him.

That’s it, Hero of Legends, if they don’t interfere, then you can fix things for them.

“Right then,” Legend muttered as he summoned his sword out of thin air.

Do it now! A whip wrapped itself around the Veteran’s hand before he could rush at Time.

“Why would you even go after Hylia when we were in the middle of fighting off Dark Link?” Four asked, trying to distract the new god from finishing off his comrade.

“When we were fighting against Dark’s forces, someone called out to me, offering a way to end all of this. That split second of hesitation cost Wars his life. So I am going to make things right for all of us.” He snapped his fingers and the room around them began glowing.

“That was his plan all along,” Sky realized, “To use one of us to kill the goddess and destroy the cycle.”

“You were tricked, you idiot!” Wind exclaimed. “Doing this isn’t going to fix anything, you got played by Demise.”

“Wait Legend-” Hyrule began. Sky readied his sword once again and ran at Legend; only to be engulfed in light with the rest of the room.

Chapter Text

Something wasn’t right. The new god felt the sudden shift in his domain. The tropical island and the radiant smile on Marin’s face vanished as Legend returned to his palace and claimed his place on the throne. It had been nearly a millennium since the Veteran had seen his brothers in arms off to a happy life. However, the approaching presence was familiar...yet vengeful. Legend got off his throne just as the doors to the throne room were blown off their hinges.

“Hey, Legend, I have an answer to the question you asked us,” Sky grinned, absolutely feral as he summoned his black and red sword. Instead of the bright blue eyes that he saw during their journey, dull crimson eyes bore into his soul. Legend placed his sword down upon seeing his friend.

“Sky...Is that you? What the hell happened?"

“I’m not the Hero of the Skies anymore. As for what happened, we tried to warn you. Without Hylia, we’re left to fight the battles on our own. Demise bested me. But instead of killing me, he chose to make me his immortal incarnation. At least he was nice enough to give me my memories of everyone back after he beat me. ”

“Why did you still go after him? Why did you still try to fight Demise?”

“Because you were wrong,” Sky snapped, “Just because Hylia was not there does not mean our enemies would stay quiet too. They still came and each of us still fought against them.”

“You saw the others?”

“I didn’t just see them. There would be moments where I’d lose control and Demise takes over. It would feel like one bad night when in reality it would be years. I watched myself fight against them, Legend, I watched myself kill them. Time, Twilight, Wind, Hyrule, Four, all of them. I saw the fear in their eyes and watched as they took their last breaths. I saw Malon, Ezlo, Linebeck, and all the children Twi used to take care of screaming as they found their bodies. The worst part? I could hear myself laughing as I left them behind.”

“That’s what that bitch meant when she said it wouldn’t be possible,” Legend muttered.

“By the time I had gotten to Warriors, I was so tired of it, Legend. I wanted to stop coming back just to kill my friends, my brothers and you know what happened?” Sky’s face darkened, “I got my wish.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I gave up on incarnation and became a being of pure rage and malice corrupted me. Sound familiar?” The Veteran puzzled over the question before his eyes went wide with realization.

“Wild....”

“Yes, Wild. I killed him and there was no shrine to put him because my malice corrupted it. And without Flora to hold me back, I ended up going on a rampage and destroyed everything, leaving monsters and malice everywhere,” the somber expression on the new demon king soon turned into a widespread and manic grin. “Rule was right!” he laughed, “Without us, Hyrule as we know it ceases to exist and it’s our fault. “

“Then I’ll fix it again, I’ll fix this-” Legend was cut off by the familiar feeling of metal being pressed against his throat.

“I think we’ve had enough divine intervention in our lives, thank you very much. But hey, you were right about one thing though!” Legend teleported out of Sky’s sword range just as the blackened blade was swung at him. The throne he had just been on was cut clean in half.

“What?”

“That these gods are selfish. You’ve turned into the very being that you killed! An immortal being with infinite power that just sits idle while others fight their battles for them.” The god’s distraught expression quickly morphed into a cold glare.

“Don’t compare me to that-”

“But that’s what happened isn’t it?!” Sky roared, shaking the room with him, “Everyone we ever knew is dead and we’re to blame. EVERYTHING that drove you to this point was because Hylia looked the other way and left us to our own adventures.”

“I didn’t interfere because there wasn’t supposed to be an adventure! You guys were supposed to live happily after this!” Legend threw his hands up in frustration. Debris fell around the two gods, who paid no mind to it.

“Well, you can’t exactly live happily when the king of demons that’s supposed to be sealed away by Hylia is taking over my kingdom. Only now instead of defeating him, I became the very being I was supposed to kill. That’s how I realized the answer; killing a god allows you to take their place, and the eternal enemy of Hylia is Demise. So no hard feelings about this, Oh powerful god.” The Veteran-turned-god instinctively blocked the incoming kick. However, the kick was powerful enough to send him crashing into a pillar.

“Dammit, Sky…” Legend got to his feet and summoned his own blade, the very same one from his first adventure only now it’s made entirely from light. “I don’t want to do this.”

“Well, like the rest of us, you don’t have a choice in the matter. You stuck us in our futile roles, now you stick to yours. You either best me and Hyrule can be remade, or I fulfill my destiny, claim your powers alongside mine, and rule over what is left of Hyrule.” The Veteran sighed and looked at his former comrade in regret. The feral grin returned as the two entities stood before one another. Once brothers in arms turned into opposing godly forces. From heroes to the very gods that started the cycle. Legend leveled a gaze at Sk- no, Demise- and raised his sword.

“Fine. But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Sky.”

“Call me by what you made me into. And your apologies serve no purpose now.” Their swords clash in an explosion of light and darkness, each fighting to overtake the other, as the palace of the gods fell around them.

It was never revealed in the legends who won the fight between good and evil. But it is said that the demon king will rise again and two special individuals will be the ones to vanquish him.

The one bearing the spirit of a hero.

And the one who is light reincarnated.

Sky blue eyes snapped open and Link shot up from his bed.