05-12-2015, 05:42 AM
As the realization that Demise may be correct washed over Ganondorf, his anger faded. And, as it did, that dark fear began to resurface. The Gerudo King quickly shoved it down; he knew that to show, and even to feel, that terror in the face of this creature would give Demise the upper hand.
“Hmph!” Demise snorted, a sinister grin spreading across his lips and showing his fangs. “No rebuttal? You can’t deny that what I say is the truth, can you?”
“Perhaps,” Ganondorf replied, meeting the demon’s gaze. “You may be right, Demise. It might be that I’m afraid of what I could be capable of.”
“Then again,” he continued, spreading his arms and looking around at the surreal scene surrounding the two giants. “This could just be some hallucination. With the power that Enel sent through my body, it wouldn’t be surprising.”
“Of course… this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you since arriving in this Omniverse. Nor does any of that make you wrong. I HAVE been beaten by lesser foes. Which leads me to ask: How might I embrace this hidden power within me? Why has it not surfaced when I needed it to most?”
Demise laughed at this, a booming sound that shook the very air with its dark mirth.
“But it has, Ganondorf. Against those dragons, you took the form of the Dark Beast and matched it in combat, whereas the others had to join forces to merely hold the other at bay. When you fought with the boy in Hyrule, again the beast arose to assist you. If not for you standing in its way, it would have slaughtered the young hero.”
“As for how to attain this power for yourself… you need only let go of your inhibitions. Let go of your past and embrace your future. Embrace what you can become. Give into the darkness, and the power of the Gods will truly be yours to wield.”
Enticing words, Ganondorf thought. He need only take hold of the darkness within him and the world would be his. A grin to match that of Demise’s began to spread across his face before a shrill shout broke him from the self-induced trance he was in.
“Wait!”
A young boy appeared from the storm, rushing through the sand and wind towards the two beings. No. Not a young boy. THE young boy. Like Demise, this lad had appeared before Ganondorf before. Red-haired and copper-skinned, the Gerudo King finally realized that this young man was Gerudo himself and he cursed himself for being so blind to that before. Not just to the boy’s origin, but to another fact which suddenly came to him. This boy… was him. There was no denying it, the similarities were too great. It made him wonder just what sort of realm this Omniverse was that such wonders were possible.
“There’s another way, Ganondorf,” the boy said, looking up at him. Unlike his older self, this child seemed to hold no fear for the demon in their midst.
“Oh?” Demise said with a derisive snort. “Please, go on.”
Sparing a hate-filled look for Demise, Young Ganondorf continued, “Just turn away from him. Turn away from his dark power, and the dark path he set you on. The Gerudo aren’t evil, and you don’t have to be either. There’s so much good you could do with your power, wisdom, and courage. You could be a King to these people, not in title, but in deed.”
As the boy finished, a silence descended upon the landscape, even the wind and sand seemed to stand still for a moment. Both the child and the demon lord waited and watched Ganondorf. Soon enough, the Gerudo King spoke and time resumed again.
“No,” he said, eliciting a pained expression from his younger self. “I can’t go back to being just another Gerudo.”
“I’m sorry,” he continued, and was surprised to find that he meant it. “But I’m not the innocent lad I was. I’ve held true power in my hand. I’ve ruled and I’ve conquered. My hands are stained red and my soul has been blackened. There’s no going back for me, kid.”
“And, even if there was… I wouldn’t want to. Whether because of this demon’s influence, or some other reason, I feel a great destiny before me. And I know it’s not a path I can walk in peace. It’s a path paved with the skulls of the weak.”
Ganondorf’s voice grew in intensity as he spoke, and his eyes shifted to Demise.
“This is the way I choose. Not because I have to. But because it is my will to do so.”
The demon lord’s lips parted in a grin as Ganondorf finished, and a clawed hand reached out towards the Gerudo. As it clasped him on the shoulder, Ganondorf spoke again.
“Don’t allow this to lend you the belief that you control me, Demise. I may wield this power, and it may be of your origin, but it is MINE to do with as I see fit.”
The hulking creature nodded and replied with a chuckle, “You’d not be worthy of my power if you could be controlled.”
With the last word, the world suddenly shook. The wind and sand vanished just as abruptly, and darkness began to descend on the landscape, closing in from the sides. Demise growled and looked around before speaking.
“It seems your time here is near its end, Ganondorf. I’ll have to make this quick.”
The lord of demons looked back to the Gerudo King before closing his eyes. Seconds passed as the darkness continued to close in around them. Finally, Demise’s eyes reopened and he said, “It’s done.”
Yet, Ganondorf felt no different than before. And, unfortunately, before he could give the demon a piece of his mind for this ruse, the darkness washed over him.
“Hmph!” Demise snorted, a sinister grin spreading across his lips and showing his fangs. “No rebuttal? You can’t deny that what I say is the truth, can you?”
“Perhaps,” Ganondorf replied, meeting the demon’s gaze. “You may be right, Demise. It might be that I’m afraid of what I could be capable of.”
“Then again,” he continued, spreading his arms and looking around at the surreal scene surrounding the two giants. “This could just be some hallucination. With the power that Enel sent through my body, it wouldn’t be surprising.”
“Of course… this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you since arriving in this Omniverse. Nor does any of that make you wrong. I HAVE been beaten by lesser foes. Which leads me to ask: How might I embrace this hidden power within me? Why has it not surfaced when I needed it to most?”
Demise laughed at this, a booming sound that shook the very air with its dark mirth.
“But it has, Ganondorf. Against those dragons, you took the form of the Dark Beast and matched it in combat, whereas the others had to join forces to merely hold the other at bay. When you fought with the boy in Hyrule, again the beast arose to assist you. If not for you standing in its way, it would have slaughtered the young hero.”
“As for how to attain this power for yourself… you need only let go of your inhibitions. Let go of your past and embrace your future. Embrace what you can become. Give into the darkness, and the power of the Gods will truly be yours to wield.”
Enticing words, Ganondorf thought. He need only take hold of the darkness within him and the world would be his. A grin to match that of Demise’s began to spread across his face before a shrill shout broke him from the self-induced trance he was in.
“Wait!”
A young boy appeared from the storm, rushing through the sand and wind towards the two beings. No. Not a young boy. THE young boy. Like Demise, this lad had appeared before Ganondorf before. Red-haired and copper-skinned, the Gerudo King finally realized that this young man was Gerudo himself and he cursed himself for being so blind to that before. Not just to the boy’s origin, but to another fact which suddenly came to him. This boy… was him. There was no denying it, the similarities were too great. It made him wonder just what sort of realm this Omniverse was that such wonders were possible.
“There’s another way, Ganondorf,” the boy said, looking up at him. Unlike his older self, this child seemed to hold no fear for the demon in their midst.
“Oh?” Demise said with a derisive snort. “Please, go on.”
Sparing a hate-filled look for Demise, Young Ganondorf continued, “Just turn away from him. Turn away from his dark power, and the dark path he set you on. The Gerudo aren’t evil, and you don’t have to be either. There’s so much good you could do with your power, wisdom, and courage. You could be a King to these people, not in title, but in deed.”
As the boy finished, a silence descended upon the landscape, even the wind and sand seemed to stand still for a moment. Both the child and the demon lord waited and watched Ganondorf. Soon enough, the Gerudo King spoke and time resumed again.
“No,” he said, eliciting a pained expression from his younger self. “I can’t go back to being just another Gerudo.”
“I’m sorry,” he continued, and was surprised to find that he meant it. “But I’m not the innocent lad I was. I’ve held true power in my hand. I’ve ruled and I’ve conquered. My hands are stained red and my soul has been blackened. There’s no going back for me, kid.”
“And, even if there was… I wouldn’t want to. Whether because of this demon’s influence, or some other reason, I feel a great destiny before me. And I know it’s not a path I can walk in peace. It’s a path paved with the skulls of the weak.”
Ganondorf’s voice grew in intensity as he spoke, and his eyes shifted to Demise.
“This is the way I choose. Not because I have to. But because it is my will to do so.”
The demon lord’s lips parted in a grin as Ganondorf finished, and a clawed hand reached out towards the Gerudo. As it clasped him on the shoulder, Ganondorf spoke again.
“Don’t allow this to lend you the belief that you control me, Demise. I may wield this power, and it may be of your origin, but it is MINE to do with as I see fit.”
The hulking creature nodded and replied with a chuckle, “You’d not be worthy of my power if you could be controlled.”
With the last word, the world suddenly shook. The wind and sand vanished just as abruptly, and darkness began to descend on the landscape, closing in from the sides. Demise growled and looked around before speaking.
“It seems your time here is near its end, Ganondorf. I’ll have to make this quick.”
The lord of demons looked back to the Gerudo King before closing his eyes. Seconds passed as the darkness continued to close in around them. Finally, Demise’s eyes reopened and he said, “It’s done.”
Yet, Ganondorf felt no different than before. And, unfortunately, before he could give the demon a piece of his mind for this ruse, the darkness washed over him.