Chapter Text
When it rains, it pours.
Lightning strikes the ground, breaking the soft earth into a thousand pieces of rock and mud and burned grass. It goes unnoticed amongst the rest of the damage done by the Guardians currently clawing their way through the field. Large metal claws ripped and tore and dragged their large, mechanical bodies up and over corpses of Hylian soldiers and machine alike, over the wet grass and dropped weaponry, all heading in one direction: Forward. They had no mercy to the cries of the people, no hearts to break over the destruction they wrecked. Amidst it all, an army fought. Loosing this fort would mean disaster for the lands beyond. It remained one of the final barriers between the Calamity and the green forests of Neculda. The Divine Beasts already fell. This war looked more and more helpless and hopeless. At this point, most people fought just to live for a few more minutes. Seconds. To go out fighting, rather than cowering. The one thing these machines could not take from the Hylians was their spirit.
Swords clashed against metal claws, ringing out loudly. Water flew off the pointed blades, no different than the blood flying off the claws. In the middle of the field stood a Princess and a Hero. One dressed in pure white clothes, the other in the blue clothes that denoted a Champion. He held his shield up, refusing to give an inch. Their was a fire in both of their eyes. Not only did they fight for a kingdom and a land, they fought for their own losses. Loved ones. Friends. Homes. If anyone looked close enough, they would see a touch of Wild in both of their souls.
As the fighting continued, the Hero started to take a more offensive role, keeping all attacks away from the Princess. She kept looking at her hands, trying to summon something, anything from the depths of her soul, but nothing came. She look up, frustrated, and- It's already too late...!
A single cry, desperate and volatile, echoed across the field as a bright, warm, yellow light grew in a bubble, spreading out until it was lost in the sky. As it spread, the Guardians slowed, then stopped, frozen as if time itself stopped. The red and blue lights in the machines went out. The sounds of battle fell away, giving room to the sounds of rain and a loud, gut-wrenching sob. The Princess held the Hero in her arms. He took a near fatal hit. For me. For him. She cried, her eyes full of tears.
As she cried, ignoring the fact that she had finally awoken something inside of her, she noticed the Master Sword-tarnished and nearly broken itself-glowing faintly. She felt as if she could almost... hear a voice... speaking to her. "He can be saved?" She whispered so faintly, she barely heard herself.
The Princess sat there, holding him, listening to his breathing slow. Three Sheikah rushed to her side, and with them, a new determination filled her eyes. She could save him. She could save both of them. "Take him. Take him!" She thrusted his limp body towards the Sheikahs. "To the Shrine of Resurrection. Go-quickly, or you will lose him!" Two of the Sheikah nodded, a man and a woman, before the man lifted the Hero into his arms and they both took off. The Princess could only hope they were fast enough. She didn't know how long the first burst of magic would hold off the Calamity, or how long the Hero could hold on.
Gingerly, she picked up the Master Sword, whispering an apology as she did so. "I know. I am sorry. I will return you to your pedestal, so you, too, can heal." She stood slowly. Her once pure white dress coated in mud, blood, and water, she felt so unlike herself. And yet, something about this felt like it was destiny itself, clicking together.
The sword returned, the Hero placed in the Shrine, and the Princess finally returned to her castle. She could feel the magic she used before slowly starting to wane. It was time to try and finish what she started-or, at least, hold it off until the Hero woke again. She crossed the threshold of the castle and felt like she walked into mud. Her movements were slow, her mind murky. Hold yourself together. Find him!
As she pushed through the Calamity, she felt her breathing slow as she calmed and centered herself. She was no longer the Princess, but rather, the Goddess Reincarnate. She had a job to do. She closed her eyes as she neared the center of the castle, and when they opened, they shone gold.
The Princess, fueled by an ancient power and pure hope-and a distant love-entered the belly of the beast, and there she stayed for nearly one hundred years, holding the Calamity at bay with all of her power.
And one day, something flew out of the castle, just as someone else opened his eyes.