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[forhylia]

Characters: Prequel!Link and YOU!
Setting: Floor 25
Format: Prose preferred, but action is A-Okay
Summary: Link takes some time to relax and breathe the fresh air. The perpetual springtime of floor 25 is much preferred to the dank depths of the castle dungeon, or the barren wasteland that became of his home
Warnings: SS prequel manga spoilers


Link inhaled deeply, letting the scent of flowers and life fill his lungs as he took in the sight of floor 25's seemingly endless meadow. There was something magical about this place, there was no doubt. Of course he had been warned about its more sinister corners. In every light there was also a shadow.

But that did not mean that Link couldn't enjoy the light. It had been years since he'd been able to stop and, literally, smell the roses. The wildlife of Hylia had been burned to the ground by the Demon King. Damn him, his obsession with the goddess' sacred power. It was difficult to keep in mind that it did not matter anymore, especially not here. His people had been saved, and they had flourished in the sky as well as on the surface afterward. The young princess's words had served him a great comfort.

Link set his sword down in the grass, lying on his back and enjoying the breeze. For the first time in a very long time, bliss.

Comments

[forhylia]

Link could feel him before he heard him or saw him. He got to his feet as the stranger approached, picking up his sword and resting the scabbard around his shoulders once again.

"How do you know to call me hero?" His words were certainly cryptic. Link could feel his heart race. He was on high alert of this man and yet he did not know why. There was simply something wrong about him, and Link's gut was hardly ever wrong.

[great_king_of_evil]

The King of Evil's smile only widened when the hero picked up his sword, obviously he had no idea what Ganondorf was but he had enough of an instinct to know he was dangerous. Like the other heroes. However he rose an eyebrow when he heard Link asking him how he knew to call him a hero.

"Has not Princess Zelda explained everything to you?" Ganondorf asked in a genuinely surprised yet interested tone. It had been a couple weeks now, he couldn't imagine Zelda had not met him at least once. But if she had not told him...

[forhylia]

"Perhaps she mentioned you in passing, but nothing specific. Your name would certainly be of assistance, first of all. I would hate to jump to a foolish conclusion." Oh, but he already had. And it was nearly spot-on. Hardly foolish at all.

Link was suddenly glad he had taken the precaution to wear his armor out on this little excursion.

[great_king_of_evil]

"My name is Ganondorf..." he stated simply, if Zelda had told him half of what he expected, the name alone would be enough to allow the hero to confirm his guesses. Seeing at the sword though, he shook his head.

"But worry not, I am not here looking for a battle against you." he replied calmly "Quite the contrary actually."

[forhylia]

"Ah, yes... I believe you may have come up in conversation." Link's sarcastic lightheartedness grew heavy, more serious. "But you are more than simply a man, aren't you." It wasn't a question. Link could see it in his eyes, the burning malice that did not belong in the realms of men.

"And if you've no wish to kill me, then why would you be here?" That was a strange statement indeed.

[great_king_of_evil]

Ganondorf didn't reply to this rhetorical question, instead smiling and chuckling lightly at the next one. He had spoke to all eight different heroes that had come through the tower, and this one had the most spirit. He sort of liked that.

"Curiosity." he turned to look at the horizon "You obviously has never met me before nor had your heard of my existence before the Princess spoke my name. Only one other incarnation of the Hero lacked such knowledge."

[forhylia]

"Have I not?" Link was still on high alert. He did not care that this man who called himself Ganondorf claimed to mean him no harm. "No, perhaps not in this form. Under this name." He began walking in a slow, wide circle, watching the King of Evil through the corner of his eye. It was amusing, in some sick sort of way, that he would be here. That all three of them would be here in some capacity.

Ganondorf. It was a fitting name for the incarnation of evil, unlike any Link had heard before. It sent a shiver down his spine and made the Master Sword shudder on his back. Yes, it was unmistakable. And yet the flare of hatred in Link's chest showed itself only in his dark amusement.

"You say that I have been reincarnated as well?"

[great_king_of_evil]

"Excellent boy. You have understood much faster than your predecessors."

Ganondorf crossed his arms, apparently pleased. So he had seen right-- Most likely this one hero had faced Demise, the former Demon King whom also happened to be his previous incarnation -Ganondorf had not forgotten a single word of what Ghirahim had told him about his past life-

"That is right, you have been reborn." Ganondorf's smile widened as he followed Link as he walked around him. His eyes were filled with as much hatred, but it was not so apparent at the moment "All your lives, spent to fight demons and ended in less than enviable manners. As despicable as they are, your gods have an admirable sense of humor and irony, haven't they?

[forhylia]

"Truth be told, I would expect nothing less. I am the gods' loyal servant. My spirit shall always answer to them, and to the land of Hylia. Though its name may change over eons, my devotion to it will not. I trust you have seen that in my... younger selves as well."

Link's life belonged Hylia- both the land and the goddess. There was not a path he would not follow, a battle he would not fight. It was no mere coincidence that he would show up in this place, only to find this wicked man and the young princess here as well. One could not be without the other two.

[great_king_of_evil]

"You are correct on one point. Your spirit will always be a slave to the gods."

Ganondorf paused. If his devotion was the correct thing, then obviously this meant that was Ganondorf saw as wrong was...

"However your devotion to the Land of Hylia, or Hyrule as we call it now, is much more fickle I am afraid. After all, your latest incarnation bore whatsoever no affection toward it and never made an effort to protect it. Only the drive to serve the gods is a constant in your existence."

[forhylia]

"You say that the gods would betray their sacred land? Am I to believe the words of a demon?" No, of course not.

[great_king_of_evil]

Ganondorf looked at Link questioningly when he replied that, genuinely confused as to why he answered that-- But then he understood and progressively grew a clearly amused and dark smile, yet one that conveyed no happiness. Of course the Princess told him everything but that.

"She didn't tell you..." he laughed darkly "Zelda did not tell you, did she?"

[forhylia]

"Did not tell me what?" Was there a shadow of doubt in Link's heart? Perhaps. It was easily overpowered, though. The dark amusement in his eyes had faded to deathly seriousness.

[great_king_of_evil]

"First a history lesson. Long ago, Princess Zelda and the Hero from her time-- They successfully ended prematurely my rule over Hyrule and sealed me away from your land for eras. I had underestimated them. However all that is locked away, is meant to be unlocked."

"And thus I returned to Hyrule. But then, something unexpected happened. You were not in my way, you were not born again... I was left free to conquer the land, unopposed by any. Hyrule was finally mine. But your Gods could not bear defeat, they had to find a way to hinder my victory."

Ganondorf then marked a pause and his smile grew weary, as if he were remembering a particularly painful memory.

"Tell me Hero, can you guess what it is they did?"

[forhylia]

"You will tell me even if I do not answer," Link pointed out. Ganondorf had clearly inherited his predecessor's miserable habit of monologuing. All of this, of course, he would verify with the Princess herself. He hardly trusted the word of a demon.

[great_king_of_evil]

"Tell you what?" he paused "That the Gods destroyed Hyrule? That they drowned the land we both 'love' without any consideration neither for my people nor for your people? That they erased everything you fought for?"

Ganondorf no longer smiled. However, he soon turned away.

"Ask Princess Zelda to confirm my words." he said as he slowly walked back the way to the stairs. "Ask her why she is so ashamed of it and why she spoke no word of this story to you."

[forhylia]

It was like a knife in Link's gut. But he did not let Ganondorf see his reaction. No, that kind of weakness before this man would be unacceptable.

"I shall speak with her. And even if there is some truth to your poisonous words, I shall weed out the falsities of your claim and find the truth."

[great_king_of_evil]

"The only truth you will find is the cruelty of the gods who destroyed you."

And with these last words, Ganondorf would exit the meadow.

[forhylia]

Link was silent as Ganondorf left. He stood still for a long while, watching the spot where the King of Evil once stood. He pulled the Master Sword from its scabbard on his back, inspecting the insignia of the Triforce on its blade.

"No," he muttered to himself, sheathing the sword. "Had you any power over the fate of Hyrule, White Goddess, you would have found a solution." The first hero remained standing in the meadow for a long time, contemplating silently what he was going to do about the man who called himself Ganondorf.