The Oblivion (Fierce Deity Link x Reader, Re-Written)

Prologue

Rain pattered against the window and distant thunder rolled as the storm leisurely crawled through the sky. He opened his mouth, inhaling a long gasp of air. The yawns were becoming more difficult to fight off, and the frequency in which they came was increasing. He'd found this portion of his shift to be the worst to get through. The hallways of the castle were entirely empty. The attendants, the servants, the court, everyone, except the night watch, were all fast asleep, snuggled warmly under duvets and sheets. Aside from other guards, there wasn't a single soul prowling about. All he could think about was the mattress waiting for him in the barracks. Sure, it was stuffed mostly with hay instead of down, and, sure, it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but right now taking off his armor and plopping down onto it sounded like the most amazing feeling in the world. 

He shifted, his armor clinking as he moved from resting his weight on one foot to the other. He still wasn't quite sure how his superior expected him to stand at attention all hours of the night. He shifted again, curling and uncurling his toes in his boots to shake off the tingling numbness that had taken over. He stifled another yawn as he did so. His thoughts returned to his awaiting bed.

Goddesses, this hour felt like it was going on forever. He shook his head, and turned to peer out the window into the small courtyard that would be below him. He could barely make out the adjacent parapet walk through the rivulets of rain sticking to the window and the darkness of the night. Lightning flashed somewhere outside of his field of view, barely illuminating the walkway. The darkness briefly retreated from every where but directly across from the window.

He squinted harder. There was a difference in the darkness there, very small and hardly noticeable. It was almost as if something... was there. 

Another flash of lighting, this time brighter and closer, illuminated the walkway. Yes, there was something there. 

He exhaled against the window causing his breath to fog the glass. He swore lightly under his breath, wiping the window with the side of his fist. His eyes fixed on the spot again, where the darkness was deeper, starker, than the surrounding.

Lighting flashed again, shortly followed by a booming clap of thunder. This flash was brighter than the previous two. It occurred near to the castle, and provided ample illumination to bathe the walkway in white light for a few seconds. Within the moments of light, he saw it. It wasn't a something.

Someone was standing there. A figure. A man?

 Another clap of thunder. Another flash of lighting. His heart thundered in his chest as white, hot adrenaline flooded his senses.

Within the flashes of light, he could see how the air warped around the figure. The light that bathed the walkway with each lightning flash seemed to stop short at the foot of the figure. The stones beneath the figure had no hue, no greyish tint or marble pattern, no color. Everything around the figure seemed to be forcibly sucked in. There was an aura surrounding the man that warped the appearance of the stones behind it. And, despite the intensity of the lightning strikes, there figure remained dark like a shadow. 

His grip tightened on his halberd, though it served little more than a decorative function. The blade was barely sharp enough to cut flesh, of course. 

He pressed his nose against the glass, studying the shadowy figure standing against the battering wind and rain. The coolness of the window pane tickled his nose and cheeks as he peered into the dark. He could see something on the figure despite the warping. Protrusions that rose from the figure.

His nose tingled from the cold and a bit of watery snot had started to trickle. He could almost make out the odd ridging formations on the shoulders of the figure.