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lyricaltitlesTitle: 'Well, I'd Tell Him that I'd Rather Die'
Author:but_can_i_be_trusted
Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom/Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Characters: Princess Zelda, Ganondorf
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Disturbing concepts; character death
Notes: Crossposted towhatif_au and ficlet_zone
Artist: Shandi Sinnamon
Album: Flashdance OST
Song: 'He's A Dream'
Summary: Taking a breath to steady her inner quaking, Zelda prepared herself.
None of them had wanted to accept Rauru’s last-ditch contingency plan. But the Demon King was proving too powerful; no alternative could be found. The worst-case scenario, that his might was too great, too nearly invincible, for a simpler solution, had been reached.
They'd done their part, combining their skills to distract Ganondorf, while Rauru prepared himself to channel what was left of his life into sealing the great evil away. He pushed every last ounce of will, every last effort, every last heartbeat, into the act. The eyes of Hyrule’s King went glassy as life faded from him.
And then...chaos. A nightmare that none had thought to attempt to predict.
The entire chamber burst into a bright, blazing mist of Gloom, pouring out in all directions from where the combatants, one alive and one just deceased, still stood.
Through that haze, Zelda could just glimpse the malignant forms of Gloom Spawn. The quintet of grasping hands erupted, each reaching out for one of the Sages. Raphica and Ardi, Qia and Agraston; even Mineru herself; all were engulfed by the Gloom Spawn, which quickly drained their lives out of them, leaving them empty husks.
Horrorstruck, Zelda could only watch as the hands cast their victims aside, slowly converging on her.
“Spare the girl,” a voice murmured.
The Gloom Spawn complied, dissipating into shapeless puddles that pooled at Ganondorf’s feet as he slowly approached. Smirking, he pointed to the ground before him.
“Kneel,” he growled.
More from exhaustion and defeat, Zelda sank to her knees, trying not to look at the corpses strewn all around her. Newly-made friends, distant ancestors...all were lost, now. Sacrifices made in Hyrule’s name, now gone to waste.
“Look at me,” the Demon King commanded, his voice a deadly purr. When she obeyed, he smiled, an expression filled with the sort of dark mirth that only unceasing cruelty could birth. “So you’re the mysterious maiden who was always at the side of those foolish rulers. Who are you?”
With everything lost, there was no need to hide behind the not-quite-falsehood that Rauru and Sonia had built for her. Taking a breath to steady her inner quaking, Zelda prepared herself.
“I am the Princess of a future Hyrule,” she answered. “A direct descendant of their late Majesties. Somehow, I was sent back thousands of years, to this era. I've been stranded here, ever since.”
His eyes narrowed. “And you’ve made every effort to attempt to keep me from my destiny,” he murmured. One taloned hand reached out, encompassing those who had fallen in that attempt. “You see what defiance has cost your companions.” Ganondorf crouched, reaching to grasp Zelda’s chin, forcing their gazes to meet. “I’ll spare you that act of mercy,” he whispered. “You call yourself a Princess, who will one day reign over Hyrule. That fate ends now. From this day forward, you will live in the knowledge that all you’ve worked for is gone. The Hyrule of your time dies here; a new world will be born in its place. And you will watch that world come into being. Perhaps I’ll even grant us both immortality, with the power I possess,” he mused, “so that you can see the Hyrule that you were born to rule slowly burn away to ash, lost on the winds.”
“I’d rather die right here and now,” Zelda whispered harshly, sickened at the notion of facing such terror for eternity, “than see that come to pass.”
“I know. That’s exactly why I’m sparing your life.”
Author:
but_can_i_be_trustedFandom: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom/Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Characters: Princess Zelda, Ganondorf
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Disturbing concepts; character death
Notes: Crossposted to
whatif_au and ficlet_zoneArtist: Shandi Sinnamon
Album: Flashdance OST
Song: 'He's A Dream'
Summary: Taking a breath to steady her inner quaking, Zelda prepared herself.
None of them had wanted to accept Rauru’s last-ditch contingency plan. But the Demon King was proving too powerful; no alternative could be found. The worst-case scenario, that his might was too great, too nearly invincible, for a simpler solution, had been reached.
They'd done their part, combining their skills to distract Ganondorf, while Rauru prepared himself to channel what was left of his life into sealing the great evil away. He pushed every last ounce of will, every last effort, every last heartbeat, into the act. The eyes of Hyrule’s King went glassy as life faded from him.
And then...chaos. A nightmare that none had thought to attempt to predict.
The entire chamber burst into a bright, blazing mist of Gloom, pouring out in all directions from where the combatants, one alive and one just deceased, still stood.
Through that haze, Zelda could just glimpse the malignant forms of Gloom Spawn. The quintet of grasping hands erupted, each reaching out for one of the Sages. Raphica and Ardi, Qia and Agraston; even Mineru herself; all were engulfed by the Gloom Spawn, which quickly drained their lives out of them, leaving them empty husks.
Horrorstruck, Zelda could only watch as the hands cast their victims aside, slowly converging on her.
“Spare the girl,” a voice murmured.
The Gloom Spawn complied, dissipating into shapeless puddles that pooled at Ganondorf’s feet as he slowly approached. Smirking, he pointed to the ground before him.
“Kneel,” he growled.
More from exhaustion and defeat, Zelda sank to her knees, trying not to look at the corpses strewn all around her. Newly-made friends, distant ancestors...all were lost, now. Sacrifices made in Hyrule’s name, now gone to waste.
“Look at me,” the Demon King commanded, his voice a deadly purr. When she obeyed, he smiled, an expression filled with the sort of dark mirth that only unceasing cruelty could birth. “So you’re the mysterious maiden who was always at the side of those foolish rulers. Who are you?”
With everything lost, there was no need to hide behind the not-quite-falsehood that Rauru and Sonia had built for her. Taking a breath to steady her inner quaking, Zelda prepared herself.
“I am the Princess of a future Hyrule,” she answered. “A direct descendant of their late Majesties. Somehow, I was sent back thousands of years, to this era. I've been stranded here, ever since.”
His eyes narrowed. “And you’ve made every effort to attempt to keep me from my destiny,” he murmured. One taloned hand reached out, encompassing those who had fallen in that attempt. “You see what defiance has cost your companions.” Ganondorf crouched, reaching to grasp Zelda’s chin, forcing their gazes to meet. “I’ll spare you that act of mercy,” he whispered. “You call yourself a Princess, who will one day reign over Hyrule. That fate ends now. From this day forward, you will live in the knowledge that all you’ve worked for is gone. The Hyrule of your time dies here; a new world will be born in its place. And you will watch that world come into being. Perhaps I’ll even grant us both immortality, with the power I possess,” he mused, “so that you can see the Hyrule that you were born to rule slowly burn away to ash, lost on the winds.”
“I’d rather die right here and now,” Zelda whispered harshly, sickened at the notion of facing such terror for eternity, “than see that come to pass.”
“I know. That’s exactly why I’m sparing your life.”