Day One: Part 1

[Illidan Stormrage]

Link and Ganondorf hobbled away from the last battle, having gained nothing in the process except more wounds. Link's skin around his arms and chest burned and stung faintly, like flaming bees had jabbed him some time ago. The real pain came from the dislocated shoulder. He could move it, but by the goddesses did it hurt. Luckily his metal cylinder that fired death pellets only needed one hand to use, even if it was harder.

Ganondorf wasn't in fantastic shape, either. Fighting Samus earlier left him with a stab wound in his shoulder. Although likely not restrictive as Link's shoulder injury, it no doubt affected the mobility in that limb too.

Three fights in such a short time had also sapped Link's strength too. He stopped walking, and Ganondorf followed suit when his companion's boots no longer shuffled over the ground.

"I need to eat," Link said.

Ganondorf nodded, a stern expression on his face, and they sat.

Link felt no self pity, no hatred at his forced decisions as they ate their food in the quiet of the dawn. Sunlight gripped the horizon, paling the sky and scaring away the stars. All he felt as he mechanically chewed and swallowed, eyes drooping, was numbness. He hardly felt like he was even there; just a wandering husk, locked into a pre-programmed route. When he pulled the trigger on his death pellet tube, he didn't really care what happened. He fought as hard as he could, of course, but ultimately the outcome just didn't matter to him.

Is this what it feels like to ... give up?

Link looked at Ganondorf. He gazed into the distance, jaw rotating back and forth. Link couldn't even summon the intrinsic prejudice he felt for the Gerudo at every other waking moment of his life. He just stared, thoughts fuzzy and muddled, unsure what to do next.

Ganondorf noticed the Hylian's empty stare and stopped mid chew. "What?"

Inspiration struck. "How do you do it?" he asked with more vigour than he felt. "How can you just ... kill things and not care? Why are you so cold?"

Ganondorf's eyes sharpened. "Not finding this to your liking?"

Link broke the gaze and looked into the distance. "I don't know what's going on, Ganondorf." A part of Link told him this was stupid, that spilling his innermost thoughts to his nemesis was unbelievably foolish and dangerous, but the numb part of him couldn't muster the effort to care. "I'm supposed to be a hero. I saved Hyrule from you, and now look at me. Some morally bankrupt killer for a stupid competition, all so I can have a chance to get out of this thing alive. The Master Sword's gone, the -" He stopped, having at least enough sense to not mention the Triforce piece. " ... the rest of my equipment's gone, and my only ally in this whole ugly mess is you."

Link looked at Ganondorf again, eyes crusted into an almost permanent frown, and waited a response. The Gerudo king locked eyes with him, his stare questioning and reflective at the same time.

"Not to mention," the Hylian knight added, "that the Master Sword is in the possession of someone else." He tched. "Samus." He recalled little about her, small tidbits during the Rathalos hunt, but she was obviously as deadly as she ever was. But why couldn't Link lift the Master Sword from the dirt once she dropped it? Had he lost the favour of the goddesses, like he truly feared? Yet if that was true, how had he summoned a light arrow, the very essence of the goddesses themselves?

The Gerudo King sat a moment in contemplation, yellow eyes continuing to scour into Link's soul. "How do I do it?" he asked, a faint smile on his face. "The simple answer is, I don't. You might see me as some monster, boy, but the truth is that I am a man, the same as you. I do care when I take a life, it's a feeling which never gets easier." Ganondorf's face grew a bit harder, if that was possible, and he leaned in towards his companion. "But I know when a sacrifice must be made for the greater good, Link. Even in Hyrule, when I killed, I did so for a purpose. You might not have agreed with that purpose, but to me it was enough to commit the atrocities I did."

Oh goddesses. Was it wrong that Link found some semblance of logic in that? Not about the part about conquering Hyrule, but doing what has to be done 'for the greater good.' Indeed, wasn't that what Link committed himself to here, as unsavoury as it was? Could the right decision mean that there were parts of it that were off-colour, simply because there was no other choice? Was the world not so black and white as Link thought?

The Dark Lord's smile returned, and he placed a meaty hand upon his long-time enemy's shoulder. "But... I don't think such a mindset suits you, boy. Keep your morals. Keep your innocence. This is why we needed each other in this competition. I, to make those hard decisions, and you, to keep us from falling into complete darkness."

Link fought back a smirk and won, thankfully. Imagine giving Ganondorf the satisfaction of smiling at advice from the tyrant. Yet still, the Hylian noted a warm swell in his chest. A trickle of himself splashed back into his soul. That the Gerudo king would find worth in his diametric opposite was heartening. And his words really struck a chord. Link didn't have to abandon himself completely in this endeavour. Yes, he would commit acts he found bitter and unpleasant, but it didn't mean he couldn't be a hero.

At least, as long as he killed Ganondorf when the opportunity finally presented itself.

Instead of the smirk, Link nodded, and he felt his stern scowl release. "Maybe there's hope for us yet."

Ganondorf chuckled. This time, the sound didn't chill Link's blood.