Endless War

XXX

"No story has an ending."

-Impa

It seethed. Its great plan had failed! That wretched princess, curse her, had been cured. And by what? A makeout session! Somehow all the Malice in that girl had been expelled. There was no way now that he could return early. Fine. It had waited 10,000 years for vengeance. It could wait two more years. Then the world would be his once more.

But it had to admit; maybe it hadn't thought its plan out. Calamity Zelda probably wouldn't have awakened him once she was through with Lorule and Hyrule. She had been so powerful that she could have had her way.

No. No, next time, it would be far more careful. He couldn't let his pawns become the master.

It would take time to plan. It was all he could do here anyways.

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Shepherd wasn't sure where he was. He had been able to escape the castle walls and start running, but even though he was fast, he was old, and the monsters were young and many.

All he could tell was that he was in eternal darkness. Not even a light in the distance.

He started to panic. This wasn't heaven. This wasn't hell.

Where am I?

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Soap and Ghost had been running from monsters and Yiga after snatching intel. Soap hadn't even read the juicy gossip in those pages before whatever happened to them. Talk about a party pooper.

And then, for no apparent reason, they were transported...here, wherever here was.

All they could tell was that they were in eternal darkness. Not even a light in the distance.

They started to panic. This wasn't heaven. This wasn't hell.

Where are we?

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Hilda understood that she was dead. She knew she was because she had seen Link sit up. What she didn't understand was why she was here in eternal darkness. Not even a light in the distance.

She started to panic. This wasn't heaven. This wasn't hell.

Where am I?

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The little girl awakened. She wasn't sure where she was, but the grass was pretty. All she remembered right now was something about seagulls. Ooo, and those red guys with moon blades.

Oh yes, that too. 

She had a big brother named Link.

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Deep underground, in the Gerudo Desert, a coffin was open.

For centuries that coffin had been left unopen. The Gerudo told stories to the young vai to always stay away from that place. Now, with something unprecedented having taken place, all sorts of nasty side effects were popping up.

The man didn't remember much, but he remembered being wrongly killed—his stupid brother had been the reason.

Stepping out of the coffin, he admired his massive frame, rippling with muscles. He patted and ran his fingers through his red hair. His sash was still pristine as ever. He even had his sword resting on the ground nearby. He wondered what King Rauru and Queen Sonia were doing these days now. He had missed those two.

His twin brother had to die before he ruined the world yet again.

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Link was back at the castle, watching the child. Marin, she was called. Yuri had told him and Zelda what Hilda had told him. Zelda had been silently crying during the story and had agreed to look after Marin when she could. Link offered to help raise her too. The King readily approved of the arrangement.

Zelda was doing something right now with Impa, leaving him to look after the child. He had to admit; she was cute. She looked just like Hilda, only without the long hair. Marin even had the red eyes her mother possessed.

Link picked her up and held her before walking outside. He looked at the stars, wishing for guidance. Then he looked down at the ring on his left hand.

Father. I will find you again.

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Yuri was reading in the royal library. Reading was the one thing that he had always enjoyed. Right now, he was reading a story of the first reincarnation of Hylia, an ordinary girl named Zelda, and the hero who descended to rescue her from the Demon King, Link. It was a grand adventure spanning the skies and the land, but sadly, it was hard to separate fact from fiction.

Yuri enjoyed these stories nonetheless. They were his history by choice.

At his side was a slice of fruitcake. Zelda came by after conferring with Impa on what to do next, picked up the plate, and walked to wherever she was going.

He guessed that he was supposed to be annoyed, but Yuri smiled. He took a sip of coffee mixed with fresh milk. It felt good to make others smile, didn't it?

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Zelda sat quietly in her study, eating the fruitcake she had snatched from Yuri. She would pay him back later. Did ex-Yigas still like bananas? 

It felt like so long ago that she had been writing in her diary in this room. She felt so much more mature.

If only her father could see that.

She sighed. The Calamity could still return any day. She still shuddered to think she had nearly destroyed a kingdom and killed Link again.

But she hadn't. And she had Link to thank for that. Malice no longer coursed through her body.

Far off in the distance, she could hear Hilda's child squealing in delight.

Zelda wished she could see Hilda again. If only to apologize for her behavior.

But something told her they'd meet again.

Before closing the curtains and locking her door, she looked down at the ring in her hand. And she smiled for the first time in years.