(Pre-Show) The Barracks

[Illidan Stormrage]

At least if there was another Ganondorf here, it boded well that they were enemies.

Link listened quietly as the Gerudo king quarreled with a golden armoured man, arrogance and condescension dripping off him like water. He was far more hotheaded than Ganondorf though, as a few choice words sent the man into a self righteous tirade. Gilgamesh, he called himself. Ganondorf might be evil incarnate, but at least he was polite.

The barracks were just as noisy and crammed with participants as the lobby. Link's eyes moved slowly over the crowds, sizing up the competition.

I'm going to have to kill them, he thought to himself. If they don't kill me first.

Link felt sick. What kind of farce was this? This was no place for the Hero of Time to be. He was a warrior for justice, not some rupee hungry mercenary for hire, or a posturing attention seeker out for personal glory. Neither was he, as his eyes flicked briefly onto Ganondorf, a sadistic dictator greedy for more power.

But what could he do? He rushed into the portal without a second thought. Syla's note was all the motivation he needed to charge headlong into a completely alien situation, unprepared and unsuited for its challenges. What was worse, he was forced to team up with his nemesis just to have a sliver of a chance at reclaiming the Triforce of Courage alive. He still didn't trust the idea that he was immortal and he had no intention of proving it. Ganondorf had mentioned that he perished here and was reborn, but his words were worth less than the sand his kingdom was drowning in.

He sighed, staring at the back of his left hand, twisting it back and forward. What kind of hero was he now? The Hero of Time teaming up with the greatest villain of all time. A thought reached into his mind that filled him with dread. Was he even a hero? He had the Master Sword, a few useful tools and a goddess blessed relic in the past, and he heavily relied on their powers to get him through his challenges. Was he just some kid who happened to find them?

And even then, he hadn't always succeeded. During the battle against the Rathalos, Link stabbed Ganondorf with the Master Sword, but still failed to defeat him. He could even get stabbing right. Couldn't anyone technically take up the same items and forge the same destiny that he had? Maybe even a greater destiny than his?

In that case, what made him special? Without the Triforce of Courage, what made him any different than the other Hylians in his world? It seemed it was all random chance, that he wasn't preordained to defeat Ganondorf after all. The weight in his stomach climbed into his shoulders. He wasn't a hero. All he was was lucky.

And now he was entering Dante's Abyss, where it seemed his luck would finally run out.

Link stared up at Ganondorf, his looming form dwarfing almost everyone else in the barracks. While he would never trust Ganondorf, he felt a slight wave of assurance that such a powerful warlock was on his side.

And at the same time, a level of fear he could not describe.