Free to Love - A Zelda x Link Fanfiction

LXXI: Last Piece of the Puzzle

Zelda's Perspective:

I barely saw the guardian preparing to fire, when I rushed forward and stretched out my hand. I didn't know why I did that. Maybe I was trying to shield the two of us from the beam? It was habit, maybe my magic taking hold, because as natural as the movement was, everything turned white and crystal clear in my eyes.

I could suddenly sense every guardian in the area. There were many, maybe ten or fifteen. Just as quickly as I sensed them, like a prescience that I could feel even though my back was turned, they were gone. I felt the wires snap in their bodies, the shelling crush under the force of the air.

Every thing was mine to be control. There was magic all around me, in the air, in the water, just waiting to be harnessed. How had I been so blind to it before? It wasn't a matter of forcing the magic out of your body, rather controlling the magic already present.

I wasn't magical. The world was magic. I was just the chosen one who had the ability to harness it. I blinked, staring at the guardians as they began to crush into themselves, splutter and fall over, blue eyes blinking out, and smoke emanating from their cores.

Everything clicked. It felt like the final piece of the puzzle was in place. Link had the sword. I had the sealing power. We could do this.

I stared up at the guardian in front of me. It's body was dented, head swiveling as its body slowly broke down on itself. Was this what had been missing for so long, I wondered. A massive event, a sudden charge of emotion that would release my power? If only I had discovered it sooner.

I blinked, rubbing the teardrops from my eyes, watching the blue eye flicker before it fell over in slow motion, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

I could feel  my sweat beading on my skin, my strength dwindling. I let go, immediately collapsing to my knees as the world returned to real time. The white light burst out, rippling out around us the the guardians were all done when it ended.

Had I really done that? I blinked, in disbelief, watching the smoke dissipate into the air. I focused on the air, the magic in it, and suddenly there was a soft golden glow on my hand, small golden sparkles flickering in the air.

I couldn't help but laugh, a bit sharply, but then hysterically. I did it! We could do it!

"L-Link!" I gasped, grinning and wiping the tears from my eyes. "I did it, we can win! I've unlocked my mag—!"

My words faded out, because behind me was Link.

And he had a large fleshy hole in his abdomen.