Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Link is no hero.

A hero stands up to the darkness and fights it back. A hero saves the princess, saves the world, and goes on with his life, happy.

He hasn’t done any of that.

Did he save the princess? Yes, he’s managed to assist her in defeating Calamity Ganon and restoring peace to Hyrule. The fight had been long and hard, but they both overcame the peril together. Just as it had been a hundred years ago. It reminded him of a past he had since forgotten, one filled with friendship and life.

Now, he is nothing more than a shell of himself. He’s regained his memories, but it hasn’t served him well to remember those he’s lost. Link mourns them deeply, even more so knowing that he forgot about them when they should have remained a constant in his mind.

It is strange to think he was given a fresh start after being reborn in the Shrine of Resurrection, where he awoke to the sound of Zelda speaking to him. Everything was new and everything was unusual, aside from the sense that he had a duty. A mission that called to him, guided him where he needed to go. He had met the King, Zelda’s father, and was saddened to find he was but a spirit. Everyone he has grown to care for has turned into a spirit, a faded memory of a past he cannot return to.

A hundred years. Just enough time for everyone around him to grow old and fade away into the nothingness that exists after death. Will they be reborn like he was? Given a new life and purpose while still maintaining their youth? It seems unfair that he was given this second chance all because he’s the Hero of Hyrule. The others deserved that second chance–to be able to experience life in Hyrule after Calamity Ganon has been defeated. They deserve to see their families and friends and to live in peace after fighting so hard and giving their all.

Link regrets having Zelda save him, all because it meant that the others had been lost to the darkness that was Calamity Ganon. He burns at the thought of them being taken away so easily by evil, their lives disregarded as though they meant nothing. How can someone so evil exist? How can they do such a thing to innocent people? Does Ganon have no sense of humanity? Not even an ounce of sympathy for the warriors?

He looks down at his right arm; the teal glow is something he hasn’t quite gotten used to. Ever since they explored that cave, he’s been dealing with the consequences. Link isn’t quite sure how it came to be, since all of it is a blur and Zelda refuses to tell him. She’s hiding something, but he supposes it’s only fair. Link’s habit of keeping quiet leaves much to the imagination, leading many to believe he’s hiding secrets. It seems reasonable enough for Zelda to keep quiet as well.

Just another memory lost…how many will he lose in order to continue playing the role of hero? Link touches his right hand, unsure of how he feels about the odd texture. It's smooth and colored like a jade sculpture found in lands far from Hyrule. Though the teal color is more on the blue end of the spectrum rather than capturing the pretty green that the jade statues have. A lovely sight, but one that holds more mystery than knowledge. An ancient artifact would be more comparable to how his arm looks now, which he supposes makes for a fine piece of beauty. Something elegant to look upon, but something that carries the weight of so many things. He wonders if anyone would comment on it and how Impa might react once he shows it to her.

Lately, he’s been keeping himself occupied by cleaning his room and training with the others. Link prefers to distract himself from the troubles on his mind by keeping silent and working through them at night, when he’s alone. But he hasn’t been spending time with anyone as of late–focusing more on himself than anything. Especially now that he's dealing with a new arm that's bound to have new abilities.

Glowing can only mean so much.

Is it a bit unhealthy to be so isolated after defeating Calamity Ganon? Certainly, since he should be celebrating and rejoicing in the peace. But he is despondent, and he’d prefer to stick close to himself and bear his burdens privately than divulge them to someone. That is a weight he does not wish to put on someone else’s shoulders, though he knows there are many who are more than willing to carry such a burden for him. After all, he is the hero, and he has sacrificed his good friends and his past to save their land.

But will he have to sacrifice more in order to keep himself satisfied? Surely not. Hopefully, all the turmoil that could have happened has, and he will be able to live comfortably.

They had traveled to the caves themselves. Ganon is dead. His corpse is still there, held to the ground by a mysterious arm–he wonders if it is the same one he bears. Link has no need to concern himself with the possibility of him coming back.

Though there is a voice that calls to him, it beckons him back to the cave system with promises of fortune and relief. As tempting as it is, Link has resisted the call. Like a siren at sea, she waves to him and brushes her hair to one side, a shy smile on her face. Her call is enticing, but there are things he must do. Duties that call.

Link pulls at the chiton he wears, somewhat embarrassed by the garment. While it is certainly more freeing than the champion’s tunic, he’s flustered by the fact that his legs are showing. When you get used to wearing trousers, shorts feel like they don’t cover much. He can see his shorts peeking out from underneath the chiton, and he sighs.

Change is prevalent in any life, but he has faced nothing but change since he awoke in the pool. He has changed his clothes, let his hair down (in a desperate attempt to feel some sort of normal), and even accepted his new arm. However, there is a limit to how much change one can handle in their life, especially if it occurs in rapid succession as it has for him. He wants to hide away, to submerge himself in the pool back at the Shrine of Resurrection, where he will be reborn again. Is it so wrong of him to want to start over? To want to see his friends once more and celebrate life with them?

Life has a strange way of portraying rebirth. If he can convince the goddesses to bless him with one last chance to see his friends…

No, he mustn’t think like that. It’s selfish of him to be thinking so carelessly about his own life. Link has a duty to perform, and he must serve his princess with his whole heart. Things may seem difficult now, but they’d be worse if he were still in the Shrine of Resurrection, wasting away in the pool while Zelda struggled to keep Calamity Ganon under control. He couldn’t do that to her again–he couldn't bring himself to be so heartless.

Zelda deserves a warrior–someone who will give his life to defend his land. And Link would do such a thing.

There has to be some way he can rid himself of these troubles. Sitting on them like a lump on a log will do him no good, and he doesn’t want to pressure Zelda with them. She already has enough on her mind, focusing on rebuilding Hyrule and returning the land to what it once was. Impa is too far away, though he can always travel to the shrines there to get to her. Regardless, she’s got a lot to handle as well. Paya seems to be a handful, though he thinks of that playfully.

Some things don't seem to go away, no matter how long you're gone.

He thinks back to the cave and how Ganon’s corpse had just been sitting there, rotting. It reminds him of himself, back in the pool. It is quiet and isolated in the caves…perhaps he could go there and voice his concerns for not a soul to hear.

After all, a cave can be a very sacred place. And if he can get all of his troubles off his chest and into the air, then there’s a chance he could feel better. He thinks it might be a good idea to go and vent. Who else would hear it but the goddesses and the cave itself?

Link makes the decision to go to the caves as soon as he can, giving in to the call of the siren.

It’s got to work, and if it doesn’t, he’s not sure what he’ll do.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Zelda has come with him to the caves, standing on the outskirts while he adjusts his chiton. Her haircut suits her–just as he did, she’s changed her hair to cope with everything that has happened. Keeping Calamity Ganon at bay for so long was more than likely draining, so he has no doubt that she needed something to remind her of her beauty.

Link smiles and shrugs. With his hands, he signs, “Yes. I need to do this. I’ll see you in a little while. Wait for me here.”

She sighs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “What if he comes back? He works in mysterious ways…I wouldn’t want you to be vulnerable when he chooses to attack.” And she’s right–there is always the chance that Ganon will come back and attack Link while he’s at his weakest, and he would be the first to admit that he is at his lowest point.

Looking towards the cave entrance, torch in hand, Link nods. It’s his way of saying he’ll be alright, a sign of confidence and ease. They have their own way of communicating, since it’s not often that Link will speak to her. Or anyone, for that fact. But today he will talk, and he will get the burdens off his shoulders.

He has a good feeling about this. It’s not often that he feels something will turn out okay, but today is different. Today is a beautiful day, with clear skies and a light breeze. Birds are singing, and the grass looks greener on this side than it has. Link gives Zelda a small smile before turning around and heading inside.

“I’ll wait for you! Just…be careful, Link. Please…”

Something about the way she says it unsettles him, but he shakes it off, venturing deep into the cave. There are no bats or other creatures, just the essence of the cave and its dark walls. He can hear the echoes of water droplets hitting the ground, which ease him. They welcome him to the cold, damp space, inviting him in with open arms and a large smile. Little do they know they hold a beast–someone who would rather tear the cave down to pieces than let it rest. He is a tyrant, a person with no care or empathy in his cold, dead heart.

Ganon killed his friends. If he is willing to kill the hero’s friends, then he is willing to destroy all the good in Hyrule. It would be a bit preposterous to propose that he could change, but Link is open to that discussion–because there is a sliver of good in every horrible man, and there is a piece of evil in every heroic man. One cannot exist without the other; they exist in harmony. Well, in the special sort of harmony there is to be had in one’s dynamic.

Link knows there is good in everyone. Whether that has yet to be seen in Ganon is beyond him, but he has faith that if the man were to really change, he would show it. Is it foolish of him to so carelessly believe someone is good-hearted at the first sign of change? No doubt. But he will show anyone the same respect that he expects of himself. You get what you give, and if Link is kind and open to them, then there’s a chance they’ll return the favor.

It could get him killed. Let it be, he says. Let it kill him. But it should be noted that he was the one who gave the benefit of the doubt when no one else would.

His footsteps are hollow and echo shallowly around him. They are his only company in this barren wasteland that is the cave. Though there is beauty to be found in the desolate, Link doesn’t think the same applies to himself. What is beautiful about his suffering? What is there to admire when he is at his lowest? Should he be expected to be this wonderful sculpture of melancholy? He is the hero, after all, and a hero is on public display for all to see–a little toy that the citizens can play with.

He scowls. No, he can’t start regretting his role. Everyone has qualms with their roles, and Link is no different, but if he focuses on those issues for too long, he, too, will become as evil as Ganon did. But that’s just it–what is the hero if not the villain? They are two sides of the same coin, each a reflection of the other.

Once he manages to get this off his chest, he’ll feel better. He tells himself that it's for his own good. He’s putting himself first for the smallest of hours, and until he gets everything out, he’s not leaving. Zelda will have to drag his freezing body out if she believes he's been in there for too long. But it shouldn’t take too long; he’ll get things out and leave as soon as he’s able. Link doesn’t want to leave the princess waiting for so long if he doesn’t have to.

Using the torch, Link lights up one passage, recognizing it as the one that leads to Ganon’s corpse. He takes a deep breath, looking down with apprehension. Should he really be doing this? Maybe he could find another corner of the cave to go down…

Link swallows. No, he needs to do this. It will give him closure over what’s been done. Ganon is dead. Who will he tell when Link confronts him for killing his friends? What can he do when his body is left to rot with the rest of the cave, hidden from view and obscured from all of Hyrule? Ganon will be forgotten soon, but never by Link.

Ganon haunts his every waking moment, even in death, and Link knows it's time to confront the beast when he is at his lowest.

Will it help him move on? Probably. Will anyone know what he’s doing? Zelda, but she agreed with him that he needed to get his emotions out when he told her. She does think it’s a foolish idea to talk to Ganon, but Link doesn’t see it that way. He’s talking to his spirit, and he won’t answer him because he no longer exists in reality. Link has an excellent opportunity to lash out at the man who has ruined so many of the things he has touched.

For centuries, they have been destined enemies, with his previous reincarnations never thinking to speak to Ganon. Link will be breaking the tradition of saving his voice for those who know him, choosing to talk to the man he has sworn to be silent around. As nerve-wracking as it is, he isn’t too anxious over it. But his hesitation to go any further speaks louder than his actions.

Oh, who is he kidding? He’s terrified of doing this. Going and, frankly, speaking to the demon who has wreaked havoc on your life and the lives of your friends is a daunting task. Not even his worst enemies deserve to face such a thing. All he asks is that this goes well. That Ganon does not return and kill Link for being so cruel to him.

It’s unlike him to be so nervous or afraid of what the future may bring. He has a sword on his hip, albeit not the Master Sword. Link is well-prepared for any consequences, though he doesn’t think there will be any.

Link is an adult now; a hundred years ago, he would have been twenty-three lunisolar years old. He finds it strangely fun that he’s one hundred and twenty-three lunisolar years old now. Zelda closely follows him behind, only one or two years younger. She looks up to him for protection and guidance, asking him for assistance in many things. It’s cute–if he had the time for it, he might pursue a romantic relationship with her.

But, given the weight on his shoulders and the emotional turmoil he's going through, Link believes it would be irresponsible of him to subject her to such an ordeal.

So the burden will go to Ganon’s spirit, and Link knows he is more than capable of handling a few choice words from a scorned hero. It’s what he deserves after all these years. Link's rage grows as he continues down the cavern, the moist sounds sickening him. There’s a hot spring near where Ganon’s corpse is, and Link is tempted to take a swim just to warm up.

How can something so cold have something so warm inside?

He’s getting closer to where Ganon’s corpse lies, and his heart constricts at the thought of being so close. Soon, he’ll be able to finally tell him how he feels. It’s a little humorous to be thinking of it like a schoolgirl thinks of her crush, but it’s the only way he can describe the feeling. Silly, isn’t it? Thinking of the enemy in such a way…he laughs to himself at the thought.

Apprehension is a strong emotion, clinging and clawing at him like a cat that wants to fight. Link is forced to move, the murals on the wall depicting the history of a man who will not back down. He is resilient; Link will give him that. In every life, Ganon has sought to take a physical form. Except this previous time, it grew to be too much, and it manifested in that horrendous concoction of malice and grotesque depravity.

If he ever returns as a human, Link will punch him square in the face as payback for what he’s done.

The murals grow to be more performative and extravagant in their display of the demon king. Link looks at each engraving, each swirl of the cavern walls, and admires the attention to detail. It's a shame no one will be able to see his brave recounting of his history on these walls.

Finally, there’s a ray of light shining down on something large, and Link swallows the disquiet in his throat, stepping forward slowly. Ganon’s corpse appears, like an omen that has clouded over the land. Malice flickers around him, glowing in the darkened space. Link gets closer until he’s face-to-face with his corpse, and he sits down, legs crossed. His shorts are showing completely, and his face flushes.

The chiton wasn’t the best idea, but it was comfortable, and he’d prefer comfort if he were to confront his enemy.

Link sets his torch down, careful not to let the flame catch on anything, and clears his throat. His voice gets scratchy from the lack of use of his vocal cords, which makes it hard to speak at first. He wraps his arms around himself and leans forward, eyes cast to the ground. It’s proving troublesome to make eye contact with the demon king.

“Hello, Lord Ganondorf.” He starts slowly, easing himself into the conversation. How cute! Even when he’s talking to a corpse, he still has enough manners to use Ganon’s full title. Link imagines the man greeting him back and briefly envisions him teasing him. For some reason, Link gets this gut feeling that Ganon will mock and humiliate him at any given moment.

Previous incarnations may have, but who knows if he will this time?

He’s dead. He won’t have a chance to do so.

“I suppose I should stop with the formalities if there are enemies nearby. You, I mean. Ah, this is…this is harder than I expected.” Link rubs the back of his neck, briefly glancing up to lock eyes with the empty sockets that look back at him.

Frozen. Shivers wrack Link’s lithe body, and he hugs himself tighter, tearing his gaze away. “I’m here because, lately, I’ve been having such a terrible time dealing with the consequences of your actions. You killed my friends. You took them away from me. And instead of allowing them to live, the others chose... me.”

No response. It’s a little unsettling to be talking to nothing, but Link keeps going.

“I feel as though I took away their chance at a second life, all because I was the hero and they were merely the Champions. You killed them…you took their lives because you’re a horrible, horrible being. You’re not even a man anymore.”

Inhaling sharply, Link shakes his head. “I hate that they’re gone. I can’t stand the thought of them no longer being around. Their souls are at rest…but only because of me. You cursed them to be trapped in those Divine Beasts for a hundred years. Have you no care in your heart? No sliver of empathy? Surely there must be some good in you.”

A high-pitched laugh leaves him, and he hangs his head low, lips flattened. “No. I…I shouldn’t be giving you the benefit of the doubt. But I want to see the good in you. I want the three of us to live in harmony since we all have pieces of the Triforce. Don’t you want that, too? Well…I guess you wouldn’t.” Link narrows his eyes and looks up at Ganon’s corpse. “You’re too selfish to only be content with your piece of the Triforce.”

Something rumbles outside. Thunder. A storm is coming. Link has to make this fast, or else they’ll be riding back to the castle in the rain, and Zelda hates it.

“You’ve destroyed everything, and we are having to pick up the pieces. But you will reincarnate. You will be reborn. That’s not fair!” Link’s voice rises, and he slams his fist into his hand, teeth gritting. Thunder reverberates above them, sharp and heavy. He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Of course, you are offered that grace. But my friends have to live in the afterlife, watching their families from afar. Even the King isn’t offered that mercy. Yet you are. Of all the people, you are given that opportunity. I don’t understand!”

His voice echoes in the cavern, and he can hear Zelda calling to him from the entrance. Link looks over his shoulder, and a voice whispers in his ear, low and commanding.

“Admit it, boy. Admit your feelings. Say the truth.”

Tears well up in his eyes, and he bites his lip, one arm coming up to rub his bicep. His hair falls in his face, and he keeps his head turned away from Ganon’s corpse, too ashamed to face him completely.

“I…”

That voice lulls over him, repeating what it said previously. It sounds vaguely familiar, almost the same as the siren call that lured him to the cavern in the first place. Link shudders, wiping his eyes, and turns back around.

“I hate you. I hate you for ruining everything, Ganon.”

Serenity floods him, and he gasps, appearing as though he’s been punched in the gut and had the breath taken out of him. Link holds a hand to his chest, noticing the teal glow growing stronger. He flicks his gaze back to Ganon’s corpse and notices the hand is no longer there.

Looking back down at his hand, Link pulls it away, staring at it. In the corner of his eye is another glow, but it appears as though it could be a result of his hand. He stands, picking his torch back up, and sighs.

“Thank you for listening to me. We may still be enemies, but I owe you for this. Someday, Ganon. Someday.” And he turns away, torch in hand.

But there’s a noise–a strangled breath. Link freezes and clams up when he feels fingers raking over his ankle. They play with the straps from his sandals, snapping them against the skin and making them slap hard. He jumps, turning around to find Ganon's corpse moving.

"What?! No…no!" Link shouts, drops the torch, and trips over himself. He falls to the cavern grounds with a thud, his breath knocked out of him. His hair falls over his face, and he reaches down to pull the hand off of his ankle.

It tightens, and a groan is what alerts him to the rest of Ganon's body. He's blinking, his eyes are rolling into place in the socket, and they are glowing. His body is crippled, decrepit, and dying right before him. Link feels his breath quicken and his heart race faster than a high-tail lizard running from prey. The hairs on his arms are standing straight up, alerted to the presence of something disastrous. Outside, the thunder roars and booms loudly, carrying lightning with it. Link can hear the rain pouring outside, and he can only hope that Zelda has gone someplace safe in the meantime.

Through the hole above his corpse comes the rain, and Ganon–if it really is him–hisses, his free hand clutching his body in pain.

"Link…" He rasps, his hand caressing the skin of his ankle. His fingers go underneath the straps, and Link stops, wondering why his name has been called. Ganon’s voice is old, like an ancient curse taking over the world. A frown grows on his face, and he whimpers, struggling against the hold.

For such an old man, he has a certain death grip. Link takes a quick look behind himself and faintly hears Zelda yelling.

“I’m coming! Zelda, don’t–!” The hand on his ankle pulls, and he’s dragged back, settling right at Ganon’s side. Link’s hair falls to the side, exposing his face, and he’s certain that the dried tears shine like a glistening treasure to Ganon.

Tears are something he lusts after, a true treasure that the man likes to hoard for himself.

He coughs, looking down at Link and scowling. “Take me to the hot spring…lay me in the waters.”

Link scoffs. “If you have enough energy to pull me, you have more than enough to walk yourself.”

Ganon huffs at his refusal and lets go of him, the tips of his fingers lingering on his ankle, almost as if he doesn’t want to let go. Why? Why does he have such a need for him when he is nothing but a fragile mummy?

“Please…you said you owed me.”

This shocks him. “You…heard what I said?”

Caught like a fly on the web, the spider meticulously waltzes towards its prey with its fangs out, salivating at the chance to eat the fly and devour it whole. Link’s stomach drops at the thought of what Ganon might do, though in the back of his mind, he knows that there is very little he can do in his current state.

“I am…frail. I admit, I haven't,” Ganon says, coughing wretchedly and pounding his chest. “I haven’t been…the kindest. Your words have made me…consider how I will navigate this world.”

Reconsidering how he goes about resurrection? Link wants to laugh; he wants to doubt him. But when he is as pathetic as he is, there is little to be mocked.

Link sits still for a moment before rearing his fist back and punching the man in the jaw. Ganon shouts, crumpling in on himself like a weak animal that’s struggling to hide its wound, and he sneers at the weak display. Well, he did promise he would punch the man if he ever came back as a human.

“What was that for?!” Ganon exclaims, sitting upright and groaning. So he can move…is he seriously going to still insist that Link take him to the hot spring? Link glares at him and turns his nose up, folding his arms across his chest.

For some reason, he feels like a little bunny being eyed by the wolf in the distance, licking its lips and looking for a good reason to get closer. Link shuffles awkwardly, his eyes snapping to the sword on his hip.

He could kill him right now. Put him out of his misery until he comes back a hundred years down the line. The world would be better off without him.

“It is not often I beg…it brings me much humiliation. But, please, Link. Take me to the hot spring, and I will give you whatever you want.” Ganon puts his hands together, and he’s taken aback by the submissive display.

“Men like him don’t change. Men like him want power and control. Don’t trust him.” Link hears his conscious whisper, and he wants to trust it, but he has never seen someone so weak and powerless.

What will it hurt to take him to the hot spring?

He inhales deeply, relaxing, and points a finger at Ganon. “You will do no harm to Hyrule if I do this for you.”

Ganon nods. “Anything for you.”

Shivers crawl up his spine at the way he says it, his accent thick and heavy. Link could cut through it with his sword, though the image of him doing so brings a smile to his face. He shakes his head and huffs, reaching a hand out.

Fingers crawl into his palm before settling neatly, and Link trembles as he feels how cold to the touch Ganon is. He grips his hand firmly, helping him off of where he’s been trapped and swinging one arm over his shoulder.

Not…exactly, however. Ganon’s hand rests on his shoulder, but Link can’t support his weight. He’s far too tall for Link to bear his weight if he were to lean on him, which leads to a graceless situation. Ganon stumbles, not used to standing upright, and Link holds onto him tightly, a little too uncomfortable with being so close to his enemy.

His hand bears down on his shoulder, and Link winces, walking towards the entrance to where the hot spring resides. Ganon’s wheezing breaths are his only auditory company, which Link doesn’t particularly care for.

“That princess…did she come with you?”

There are ways he could respond to the question, but Link sighs. “No,” he lies. “She’s unaware that I’m here.”

Ganon chuckles. “Liar. I heard you calling to her. If she walks in on this, it is her own fault.” He wobbles, gripping Link’s shoulder firmly, and he sighs, continuing forward.

“She won’t. Leave her out of this.”

Link feels more than relieved when the hot spring comes into view, and he goes toward it, the heat warming up his cold body. Ganon’s fingers tighten, digging into his shoulder, and it’s then that Link realizes how grateful he is that he’s touching the chiton. He guides Ganon to the hot spring, his face falling when he sees that it’s a bit deeper than anticipated.

“You’ll have to–.”

“I know.” Link snaps, putting his right hand up. It’s still glowing, but nothing has happened so far. It’d be a disaster if it were to suddenly react to Ganon being awake, but Link doubts that it’ll do anything. He steps in front of the hot spring, shrugging Ganon’s hand off of his shoulder and adjusting it so that they’re holding hands once more.

Ganon squeezes. Link tenses.

“Step down, but easy. I can’t help you up if you fall.” Link turns away, his hair hiding his face again. Ganon nods, his jewelry jingling against one another as he grunts and takes a step down. With his hand in his own, Link lowers him, nearly falling into the hot spring himself. He steadies himself by holding onto the cavern wall, and Ganon looks over his shoulder at him.

“You must practice what you preach, eromenos.”

Link furrows his brow. “What did you call me?”

He waves his hand. “No need to question it. Sit. Speak to me while my body rejuvenates.” His bony finger points at a spot near the edge of the hot spring, close to where Ganon is sitting. Link grumbles, stomping over to the spot and sitting down, pulling his knees up to his chin. It’s easy to fold himself in half when he’s as small as he is.

Tucking his chin into his knees, he sighs. “About what I said…”

Laughter fills the hollow space, and the water splashes as Ganon drops his hand. “I deserve it. I did some…” He stops, thinking through his next words carefully, and Link narrows his gaze. “Horrible things. I don’t deserve forgiveness, but it is all I can ask for.”

Sure…Link will forgive him. With a sword through his chest.

“I don’t believe you.”

It sounds so sorrowful, filled with the grief he has for his friends. Forgiving Ganon sounds like a noble thing to do, but he can’t bring himself to forgive someone that he hasn’t accepted yet. He’s still coping with his friends’ deaths. Forgiveness is the last thing to come in the stages of grief.

“That is fine. You will come to believe me in due time.”

Ganon’s body is glowing, and Link can see the way it slowly puffs out, reforming into what it was previously. His hair is fluffy at the ends, each strand carefully flowing. The hot spring is healing him–just as the pool in the Shrine of Resurrection did for him. They have too many similarities; Link wants to pretend that Ganon is some heartless monster, but he’s making it difficult.

“I respect your courage to come here and voice your grievances to me. It takes a hero to admit the deepest, darkest parts of himself. Not even I would have the confidence to be so brazen with the enemy.” Ganon turns, looking at him, and Link swallows.

To be confronted like this is unusual, but Link nods and hides his face. Ganon guffaws at the display, smacking the water. “You are adorable, eromenos. So sweet, like a fox tucking its tail between its legs. Show your face more; don’t hide from me.”

Link grumbles, begrudgingly bringing his face back up and facing Ganon. The demon king smiles, his face returning to a somewhat normal state. He’s starting to look as he did back in the day, before the malice consumed him and turned him into that boar-like beast.

“Yes, I do respect you. I’d rather have you as my enemy than any other average Hylian. You're... braver than most people. Your ability to handle a sword is unmatched, though I have bested you in the past. And you carry yourself with the weight of a thousand suns. There is power within you, and that,” Ganon says, gently poking his knee, his hand reverting to the thick mass of muscle it must have once been. Link makes eye contact with him and finds he can’t look away.

“That is what a true hero is to the villain. They reflect the beast they loathe; a mirror image of one another. As many legends have it, one cannot exist without the other. You are a perfect thorn in my side, and I’d have it no other way.”

Ganon brings one hand up, stares at it, and lets out a deep breath. “Though, little eromenos, I’d prefer if we had a different dynamic. This game of cat and mouse is getting quite old…don’t you know that the cat will eventually corner the mouse and eat him?” He turns to face him, his face returning to its previous state. His eyes glow a golden yellow, and Link backs away, hiding himself further.

“You…you have done that…once.”

Link flinches at his haughty laugh, and Ganon shakes his head, his hair flowing around him.

“Have I? Are you sure we’re on the right page? Or are you reading a fairy tale while I read a playwright’s script?”

A fairy tale? Link clenches his hands into fists, glaring at Ganon. “What I went through with you was no fairy tale.”

The more he rejuvenates, the haughtier he gets. Cocky bastard. Link turns, groaning. “Do not deny what I’ve gone through. You said you respected me; then show it.”

Ganon puts his hand out in front of himself, stretching the fingers and bringing them back together. He breathes out, almost like an excited child, and tilts his head to the side, not making eye contact with him. “Oh, show you? Show you that I respect you? My, my, Link,” he says slowly, turning in the water to face the young man. “You cannot begin to imagine how I will show my respect to you.”

The water sways around him, and Ganon climbs out of the hot spring, fully drenched and rejuvenated. His body practically glows in the dim light of the cavern, illuminated only by the brilliance of the hot spring waters. Link’s arm is still glowing, and he brings it close, scooting back when Ganon approaches.

He leans forward, bare-chested and exposed for all to see. Link grimaces at the sight, avoiding looking in the obvious direction. Ganon closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. A minute tremor shoots up his spine, and Link scrambles to get up.

His sword falls off his hip, clattering to the ground loudly, and Link freezes in the middle of getting off the ground, snapping his head up and locking eyes with Ganon.

“Well? Aren’t you going to pick it up and use it against me? You haven’t even been told what I’m going to do, yet you’re running like a scared rabbit. What is it, Link? Do you not trust my promises and sweet words?” Ganon teases, tutting at the end. Link feels his heart hammer in his chest, his blood pressure soaring, and he looks down at the sword.

He has a choice. Either fight Ganon and end this, or let him kill him like he’s probably planning. Link knew he shouldn’t have trusted him! One’s foolish actions always come back to bite them in the ass, and he had been so oblivious to it all. Ganon is looking for a fight now that he’s back to his normal self, rehydrated, and reformed. Curse him!

Gathering his courage, Link grabs the sword and holds it out in front, scowling. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you…you killed them all! You’ll pay for your crimes!” He lunges, and Ganon narrowly avoids the attack and slides back, grinning.

“Yes! Oh, your hatred runs like a river through your veins! Just the same as me, eromenos! You can deny it all you want, but you'll never get away from me!" Ganon walks as though he’s not troubled by Link’s attacks, and it further irritates the hero.

Link swings the sword again, having to aim higher than himself just to get a chance of slitting his throat. He growls, moving closer and playing a dangerous game of tango with the demon king. Ganon spins around him, ducking when Link aims the sword at his neck, and clicks his tongue.

“Playing this game with you is fun, but I tire of your coquettish ways, little hero! Your friends put up a fight, but it was I who crushed them into lifeless sacks of nothing. They cried for you, but you didn’t come, did you? No, you were with that princess, trying to stop me. And in the end, it was your hatred of me that brought me back.” Ganon catches Link’s sword when he swings it again, ripping it from his hands and tossing it to the side. He adjusts his grip to hold his wrist and then raises him to his face. Link dangles in the air, his feet struggling to meet the ground.

With his voice low and husky and his accent even more noticeable, Ganon licks his lips. “Do you know what I’ve been calling you? They used it to describe the young men they slept with in ancient times. Beautiful creatures…so small, so green…I’ve fucked many brats, but I’ve always wanted,” Ganon leans in closer, his tongue resting on Link’s cheek. “You.”

Everything stops. Link’s body goes slack, and his face is blank, wiped clean by the outrageous confession. Link stutters. “The…the princess…you…”

Ganon cackles and throws him to the ground. “Are you suggesting I should go after her? What a selfish thought, Link! I would, but she is of no interest to me. She would not put up a fight like you have. You make me fight for your affection, but what happens? Tell me, Link, I want to hear it from your pretty mouth.” He puts one hand behind his ear, leaning down, and Link crawls away, using his elbows.

“You…you…”

“Ah, there we go. You’re so close! Keep going…I can hardly wait.” A teasing bastard! Just as he had suspected earlier. Link hangs his head, tears pricking the edges of his eyes.

“You win…”

“I win. That’s right. You, ha! You cannot defeat me without that princess…what is her name? I never care to remember.” Ganon comes closer, prowling like a wolf, and Link shivers. He just wants to get out of here and forget that he ever came to the caverns in the first place. The siren's call, as alluring as it was, had caused nothing but harm to him now. Zelda must be waiting in the rain, alone and afraid.

Abandoning her is not an option, though, and he doesn’t think he’ll have any choice in what he does from here on out.

Link looks at his sword and gets to his knees, desperate to get back to it, but Ganon stops him with a foot to his face. He falls back, landing on the ground and groaning. That’s going to leave a nasty bruise on his cheek…and here he thought that Ganon respected him!

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! You shouldn’t have fallen for his bait so easily!” Link scolds himself, curling in on himself. He thinks of Mipha and how she would have encouraged him to keep going; of Urbosa and how she’d raise him up, giving him her shield.

But they’re not there to save him, and he can’t burden Zelda with his mistakes.

“I always get what I want, eromenos. Always. And you will not deny me what I’ve been craving for a hundred years!” He grabs him by the ankle, pulling him back and lifting him in the air. His chiton falls down, exposing his shorts, and Link blushes.

“No, no! Don’t!” Link struggles in his grasp, kicking wildly. His sandal-clad foot meets skin, and his blood pumps harder. He can get out of this! He can stop Ganon while he’s still cognizant!

Ganon uses his other hand to grip Link’s left ankle, restricting him. “No, you will not be getting away this easily. Ah, my little eromenos…you should not be denying it in this manner. I will treat you right–I will show you what that princess can’t do.”

Humiliated, Link whimpers, the stinging in his face almost becoming too much to bear. Ganon walks over to the hot spring, holding Link’s ankles in both hands, and drops him in, following shortly behind. “You will feel no pain if we are to copulate here. Although, if you’d prefer to feel the pain, then you are welcome to voice your preference.” He’s quick to grab Link, bringing him close to his chest.

He’s practically sitting on him! Link closes his eyes, shuddering when one hand ghosts over his exposed nipple, rubbing it in circles. He thinks about his friends and how much fun it would be for them to spend a day in a hot spring together. They’d chatter about so many things, but Link knows that Ganon will only talk about what he wants.

Selfish, ignorant, man! Who would ever want to sleep with him willingly?

Something presses against his thigh, and he jumps, the water waving around them. He braces himself against Ganon, squirming, and he feels the fleshy thing drag against his skin. Ganon sighs, his chest pushing Link’s body up and down with each breath he takes.

“Don’t you feel what you do to me? You're the size of a woman, you little thing. The women in my country are taller than myself–sex with them is never as enjoyable as it is with a Hylian. You fit perfectly in my hand, and you’ll look like a statue meant for all to see impaled on my cock.” He thrusts upward, and Link jostles, feeling his dick rub against his thighs. He makes a noise of distress, pulling away from him only to be brought back to his hold. Link throws his head back, groaning and sounding like someone throwing a tantrum. He doesn’t want to speak–not now. Not after Ganon betrayed what little trust he gave him.

Ganon leans forward, his hair falling around them, and he whispers in Link’s ear, his breath tickling the skin. “If you do this, I won’t attack Hyrule again. I will return to my country in peace. Put up as much of a fight as you want–your body will tell me all I need to know.”

A line is licked up his ear, and Link shudders in disgust. Letting the enemy use him in such a crass way…it brings dishonor to the legacy of his friends. Link wants Ganon to avoid Hyrule as much as the next person, but to give himself up so willingly and without any fight?

"Besides," Ganon exhales, still moving against him, albeit slowly. “I like my women to put up a fight.”

Women? Link scrunches his face up in confusion, not understanding what he’s getting at, before a hand grips his hair, pulling his head back. Ganon's lips press against Link's, hungry and devouring, like a spider encircling a fly.

The thunder roars outside, and Zelda’s distant holler can be heard. Or, so he thinks. Link isn’t sure if he’s fully there; he's too caught up in everything going on. Ganon brushes his hair out of his face, the wet strands sticking, and puts two fingers on his chin, pressuring him to open his mouth. Link grunts, opening his mouth ever so slightly, fearful of what might happen to Hyrule if he doesn’t. Then again, Ganon said he preferred his women to put up a fight.

His tongue worms its way inside his mouth, gagging him. Link chokes on the appendage, struggling to keep up with Ganon’s much-more experienced movements. It presses against every inch of his mouth, touching his uvula, and he grips Ganon tightly, wriggling to get out of his hold once more. He kicks his legs out, splashing water over the two of them, and Ganon chuckles into his mouth, saliva dripping down Link’s chin.

His hands jerk as they try to find reason, and Ganon digs his fingers into his chin, groaning. It’s difficult to say whether he enjoys this or not, mainly because it’s forced. Link moves his neck, but the hand in his hair grips the strands tightly and pulls, keeping him tethered there.

When Ganon overpowers Link, he can't breathe and struggles to inhale. He closes his eyes. This can’t happen! He bites down on his tongue hard, and Ganon rears back, shouting.

“You brat! You bit me!” He tugs on his hair again, and Link smiles, blood coating his teeth. Ganon grumbles something inaudible and dives in for another kiss, licking the blood from his teeth. It has to have hurt him, but if it does, he isn’t showing it. Damn! He’s good at hiding his pain. Link rolls his eyes when he feels his tongue slide back into his mouth, rubbing against his own.

The hand on his chin slides down, and Link’s hands decide that fighting back is what they’re going to do. He grabs at it, digging his nails in and tugging on it, only to be snagged back by the hair. Link makes a face, pushing his nails into the skin as hard as he can, but he’s finding it pointless.

Ganon pulls away from his mouth, a string of spittle connecting the two of them, and it falls down, dribbling down Link’s chin and onto his chiton. His hand connects with his nipple, and Link pulls away when he feels his lips against the side of his face, tracing kisses down and over the line of his jaw.

His hands come up to push at Ganon’s shoulders, touching the warmed metal of his jewelry, and he wheezes. This is wrong in so many ways, and he’s not even putting up that much of a fight. But he’s still trying! And nothing will stop him from kicking, pushing, and biting!

“That’s right,” Ganon mumbles into his skin, trailing down and reaching his jugular, pressing a chaste kiss over it. Link’s heart is pumping so hard that he knows he’s feeling it. “Keep denying this. Keep fighting. Makes it more fun for me.”

Fun? He gets a kick out of a screaming, sobbing maiden? Link looks down at him, his hands clenched in denial. He could either fight back and give Ganon the excitement he wants, or he could play dead and rid him of that control.

But Link wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t fight back. He is a hero–not a submissive brat! Heroes fight back for the sake of their dignity and people. And, looking at it from this perspective, Link supposes he should continue the fight and ignore the pleasure it gives Ganon.

It is humiliating to be doing something his destined enemy wants, but it would be even more humiliating to lie still like a plank and allow him the victory of knowing Link submitted to him.

“Hmm, your skin is as soft as the silk of my people. A delicacy to savor and consume whole... and it’s virginal. I’m certain I know the answer, but tell me, my dove, are you still chaste?”

Oh, goddesses, how disgusting! Link is repulsed by the question, even more so now that Ganon has admitted he knows the answer. Does he keep watch over him? Does he track who Link has romantic entanglements with? He should know Link doesn’t have time for that, and even if he did, it wouldn’t be any of his business.

Link’s lips flatten, and he grabs at Ganon’s hand, trying to stop it from playing with his nipple. Ganon snickers, shaking his head, the hair of his beard ghosting over the flesh. Link kicks his legs again, and Ganon thrusts, reminding him of what’s pressing up against his body. He had forgotten all about it; his attention was focused on everything happening above the water.

He jerks when he feels Ganon’s lips trace over his collarbone, sucking on a spot and no doubt leaving a mark. Link presses his hands against his head, his nails digging into his hair. It is soft, but he shouldn’t be focused on that. This is so sick, and he can’t believe he’s honestly allowing this to happen.

Because isn’t that what he’s doing by not giving the fight his all? Is that not what he did when he agreed to help Ganon into the hot spring? His friends would be disappointed in him for believing Ganon so easily, and Link cannot fault them for seeing him in such a way.

A simpleton–that is what he is. Nothing but a simpleton that fell for the simplest of tricks. Link squeezes his eyes shut, trying to deny that he’s on the verge of crying. Heroes don’t cry. He can’t cry if he wants Zelda to see him as the brave, heroic person that she’s always seen him as. Once he gets out of here, he will form some sort of plan to kill Ganon–to get revenge on him for what he’s done to him. No one can know he’s doing this. It will destroy his reputation as a hero.

Ganon hums. “I take it that’s a yes? Your silence says more than your words. Don’t mistake me for a fool, eromenos. I am more knowledgeable than you will ever be.” It sounds like he growls at the end of his sentence, and Link growls back, a whimper growing near the end. It almost sounds like he’s sobbing, which would be more along the lines of what he’s doing.

He gasps when he feels Ganon’s tongue slide over his bud, going around in circles around the areola and sucking it into his mouth. Link tastes the bile rising in his throat, and he shakes his head, his hair still being gripped tightly. His hand goes up to pry it off, and Ganon finally, finally, relents and lets go. He takes a deep breath, relieved that the pressure on his head is gone, and he relaxes.

Relaxing as well as one can when they’re being violated, that is. Link writhes beneath his ministrations, hating how the water swirls around them with Ganon's head submerged. How does he manage to hold his breath while licking his nipple?

Luckily, it doesn’t last long, and Ganon grows bored with the action. He comes back up and kisses Link on the cheek, like a husband does to his wife, and Link shies away from the affection.

“Now, Link, that’s no way to treat your erastes. Be nice.” Ganon teases, breathing against the shell of his ear. Link recoils, visibly disgusted with all that’s happening. With careful hands (as careful as someone of Ganon’s stature can be), he drags his hand over his abdomen, playing with the tie around his waist.

With a choked gasp, Link manages to spit out some choice words at him. "I am not your eromenos...you debauchee!”

That cursed hand pulls the fabric of his chiton up, revealing his shorts. “We will see if that changes soon. I am quite good with my hands.” Ganon nuzzles into his neck, and Link grimaces; soft, strangled noises escape him–far beyond his control. Ganon’s hand is smooth, with slight callouses here and there. They scrape over his skin, and Link can swear that the malice wraps around him, embracing him. He twists in Ganon’s hold, the tips of his fingers skirting around the edges of his shorts.

“So, so supple. A fresh lamb for the taking…just as I imagined all those years. Fighting you only showed me a fraction of what you’re capable of.” Ganon grabs the edge of his shorts, and Link tenses, his knees buckling.

“Please,” he whispers. “Don’t. You got…you got to kiss me. Leave it at that.”

Ganon laughs deeply, the water washing over them, and he pulls on Link’s shorts. They come off, the warm water stinging him in all the wrong places.

“Your resistance only serves to make me harder. Keep going, little hero.”

Link shakes his head, listening as his shorts are tossed to the side of the hot spring, landing with a wet slap. Ganon inhales noisily, rubbing against Link. His hand digs into his muscled thigh, and he snorts.

“You’re toned…must be from all that running. I’ve heard you ride mares, but can you ride a wild stallion?”

Link throws up in his mouth, looking away. His cheeks are flushed, but he’s trying to hide them. Ganon is so venereal! He has no sense of filtering his words; anything that comes out of his mouth is guaranteed to be illicit and sexual in nature. Does he have no regard for the words he speaks? What a grotesque man…obsessed with keeping clean and tidy, but not when it comes to how he addresses someone.

Everything comes to a standstill when Ganon’s hand rests on his inner thigh, dangerously close to his manhood. Link blushes hard, bites his lip, and hangs his head low. His hair is no longer covering his face, leaving only his hands to do so. But they’re clinging to Ganon’s arms, trying to convince him to stop. Trying to tell him that this doesn’t have to happen.

They kissed. Link let him play with his nipple. Now, playtime is over, and it is time for the two of them to go home. Furthering this sexual encounter is just…wrong. It’s not supposed to happen like this. They’re meant to be enemies, fighting one another until their last breath. Link is meant to drive the Master Sword into his chest, and Ganon is meant to be reborn again. They will always meet in their lifetimes, in some way or another.

But not like this. Never like this. It’s forbidden. It’s taboo. It’s horrible.

His fingers are rough in their handling of his skin, and Ganon breathes out against his ear, sounding like someone who can’t resist the urge. Giving in to temptation like this right after promising to redeem yourself…Link can’t believe he fell for such hypocritical horse dung!

“You feel enchanting to the touch…my little statue, all for me to admire and hold. Don’t you think,” Ganon trails off, his hand inching closer and closer to Link’s manhood (he feels too embarrassed to call it his cock). “That I should pleasure you first? After all, I did promise I would treat you right in exchange for Hyrule’s safety.”

Is that what it hinges on? Link’s willingness to sleep with the enemy? He’s repulsed by the idea–to think that he has let him get this far!

Golden eyes stare into his own, hardened and focused. His hand brushes against his balls, and Link jumps, grunting wordlessly and using his legs to get away from Ganon. But the hand around his left thigh clamps down on him, bringing him in closer. The demon king leans forward, his lips ghosting over Link’s, and he panics.

Without thinking of it, Link leans his head back and slams it into Ganon’s forehead, hitting the jewelry that hangs over his forehead. Ganon hollers, letting go of him, and Link feels the adrenaline pumping in his veins. He grips the edge of the hot spring, pulling himself up, and flops over onto the ground. Through half-lidded eyes, Link watches as Ganon holds his forehead, eyes closed.

He hesitates.

Wrong move! Link tells himself, rolling over and getting to his knees. He grunts, ready to get up, when a hand clutches his ankle, slamming him down. His nose crunches as it makes contact with the ground, a scream tearing its way out of his throat.

“You may cry all you want, little dove, but you will not get away from me that easily!” Ganon roars, loud and boisterous, in the small space. Link wails, using his elbows to crawl his way out of his hold. His grip, like he said earlier, is a death grip, and he kicks uselessly. Everything hurts, and the fear gripping his heart is fiercer than any fear he had facing Calamity Ganon.

Ripped from the side, Link is tossed back into the water. Ganon’s hand wraps around his neck, nearly the same size, and tightens.

“I like the fighting. Oh, Link, I love it. But your reckless behavior is starting to grate on my nerves. Can’t you behave yourself? Or would you rather Hyrule be destroyed and make all of your hard work be for naught?” He cocks his head to the side, and Link scowls, hoicking up some saliva and spitting it onto his face.

“I’d rather you be dead!”

Ganon uses his other hand to go back down the length of his body, parting his legs with his knee. Link sucks in a breath, restricted by the hand on his neck. Forcefully, he pulls the chiton to the side and presses his hand against his dick, enveloping it with just his palm.

Link closes his eyes, ashamed of his size. He knows he’s average for someone who’s only four-foot-eight, but this is simply too humiliating. Ganon’s thumb is almost bigger than his shaft! It makes him burn, terrified of what the man might say.

“Small, but just the way I like my women to be. Playing with you will be so,” Ganon says, slowly moving his hand up and down. “easy. You fit perfectly in my hands...oh, how the pleasure will be divine for you!" He laughs, and Link moves his legs, still squirming uselessly underneath him. It doesn’t help that there’s a hand on his neck, choking him and threatening to knock him out should he try anything.

Ganon strokes him languidly, at times having to readjust his hand so he can properly hold Link. If that isn't the most humiliating thing to happen to a man…he's never been one to be ashamed of his small stature, until today. Ganon is so much larger than Link that his whole body hides him from view. He looks like a little toy spread out on his leg, posed to perfection. Just one thigh is enough for Link to sit comfortably upon, and the thought that he’s small enough to be held like that makes him explode internally.

Each thing done to him strokes the embers of his rage, coaxing them to life. Right when he thought he couldn’t hate Ganon more, he proves, once again, that he will always do something worse. Whatever you believe he has done horribly, it is only the start of his rampage. Killing and plundering women and children, then slaughtering an entire country and seizing their machines...not to mention murdering his friends heartlessly…

His thumb goes over the tip of his cock, rubbing against the slit, and Link bites down on his lip. Pushing at Ganon’s chest is a fruitless effort, but it’s all Link can do while being forcibly wanked. His hands slip off from time to time, slick from the water, and Ganon hums when one brushes against his nipple.

“Touching me? Ah, eromenos, do you like what you feel? My body is proof enough that I can protect you; give you the same care that you give that princess of yours.” He moves in closer, and Link can see the slightest hint of a smirk growing on his face. “I can make you my queen; it's so much better than being a prince. And you’d have more power than the princess.”

He thinks Link is touching him on purpose. Or maybe he’s just teasing him and making it seem like that’s what he thinks. Link can’t tell what he’s getting at with what he’s said. The demon king is playing mind games with him! Tricking him into believing that he’ll have the stars and the moon if he gives himself up to him–Ganon has no idea what Link wants! Honestly, it scares him to think that he wants him to share the throne with him.

Power and control are so close, but so easily corruptible. Link wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he accepted. Betraying Zelda’s trust and faith in him is unforgivable, and he refuses to give in to this beast. Let him find another queen. Let him search elsewhere for his mate, because Link will never allow himself to be taken so effortlessly. He glances down at his right arm, which is outstretched and glowing. That teal color lights up their bodies, giving Link the chance to see the scar in the center of Ganon’s chest.

Link's breath catches as Ganon quickens his stroking, his dick having hardened by this point. He hides his face in shame, his right hand sliding over the scar on Ganon’s chest. The skin is smoother there, with bumpy ridges around the outline of the scar. Link notices the glow getting stronger, and he wonders if he can attack Ganon with his arm.

His hand squeezes, forcing Link to cry out.

“What was that? Was someone enjoying themselves a little too much? I’m so sorry, darling, but I can’t let you come by just my hand. That’d be a bit too easy.”

Link scoffs, a tremble in his thighs. Damn. So he was feeling something. “So what? You think you’ll please me in some other way? You can’t.”

Another deep chuckle. It sounds so wrong to hear the demon king laugh about Link’s refusal. Any normal person would have stopped and backed off way before things got to this point, but Ganon hasn’t. He won’t. Men like him take, and they take until they have had their fill; only then will they retreat back to their web, their victims tangled up in the strings they have spun.

Well, Link won’t deny that he’s stuck in that web, but unlike the other insects, he’ll fight back. He has. None of this can happen without some sort of denial and retaliation from him.

“Have you no clue what I can do to you? Don’t challenge me, boy. I’ll be more than happy to show you what all I’m capable of.” His hand lets go of his length, and Link sighs, relieved. Carefully, and with as much grace as Ganon can muster, he picks Link up by the waist, flipping him upside down so that his head is in the water.

Screaming, he thrashes around, water filling his lungs. Ganon forces his legs apart, pushing them by the knee until they’re bent and angled by his head. Link grabs onto his legs for purchase, slowing his breaths and trying to hold it like he’d been trained to do as a knight.

Water drips down the backs of his thighs, and his eyes widen when he feels hot breath on his behind. No…no, what is he doing?! Is he really going to–?

Link nearly passes out when a broad tongue licks a line from his crack to his hole, slathering against the tight ring of muscle. He tightens, his legs clenching together. Oh, gods, this is so depraved. Ganon’s face is buried in his…ass! If Zelda saw them now…

More water fills up his nose, and he inwardly curses at himself for gasping when he felt his tongue.

Ganon’s hands settle on each cheek, spreading him open, his tongue slopping around in a circle. He bites at the tender skin there, and Link is crying out and wriggling to get away. He’s going to drown if he holds him under any longer!

His fingers dance around the skin, raking his nails into his behind and leaving marks. Link digs his own nails into Ganon’s calves, scratching him until there’s enough evidence of the struggle. Mark him up. Make it known that he had to work for this sexual encounter. Link would rather people know he fought back than have them assume he just gave in.

Regardless, no one is going to find out he did this. Absolutely no one.

The tip of one finger presses against his hole, stretching it to the side with some difficulty. Link kicks at Ganon, but it doesn’t land, and he makes a fist. It’s getting too hard to keep sitting underneath the water! Ganon groans against him–Link is trembling at the sensation of his beard against his skin, not to mention feeling the deep rumble of his groan in such a private place! He didn’t even know that you could do such a thing to a man!

Finally, Ganon spreads his hole open and dives his tongue inside. Link squeals like a Hylian girl who just saw a bug and slaps his leg, the water rippling as a result. His vision is growing spotty, and he bangs on Ganon’s calf, hoping that it will get the demon king’s attention.

Somehow, Ganon buries his face further in his ass, which is embarrassing all on its own. Spread open and fucked with your enemy’s tongue…not many heroes can say they’ve had that done to them! But who knows? Perhaps Ganon has done this to a previous incarnation of Link, and he just doesn’t know it. If it did happen, they’ve never spoken about it.

Everything gets darker, meanwhile, as Ganon thrusts his tongue in and out, in and out, with his finger joining the mix. Link can’t deny that it’s doing something to his lower abdomen, but he’d rather put it off as nerves. He pretends he doesn’t know that familiar twisting; it’s better that way.

Just as he thinks he’s going to drown, Ganon picks him up, and a horrific, choked gasp leaves him. Link pants, blinking the water from his eyes. Is it over? Is he done toying with him like he’s wanted? He glances down at him from where he’s held, and Ganon sighs.

“I’d say you’re too tight, but nothing is too tight for me. It’s a shame it was cut short, but I don’t like my women to play dead when I ravish them. So stay alive for me, and let’s get you stretched out, shall we?”

“No,” Link wheezes, clenching up when he’s brought back down. “No, please, no! You’ve had your fun–let me go! Ugh, no, no, no!” His feet settle on the edge of the hot spring as Ganon tilts his head back, letting Link’s body sit on his face. His nose presses against his taint, and Link digs his heels into the ground, fearful of what’s to come.

One hand holds him by the waist, while the other goes down to his ass, picking up where it left off. Somehow, the saliva has made it easier for Ganon to slip his tongue through, and Link hardly notices when that finger goes in, pushing in to the last knuckle. He pulls it out, only leaving the tip in, before slamming it back inside of him, his tongue lavishing every corner of his inner walls.

“Ew, gods, gross…” Link whispers, his hand covering his mouth as he quivers. His thighs are going through the worst of it; the tremble is so noticeable that it looks as if the cavern is shaking. His thighs press against Ganon’s temples, and he gets the briefest of thoughts to crush his head in.

But it would probably take a lot more muscle to do such a thing, and Ganon is a burly man. There’s no use in doing that.

He feels useless and disgusted with himself for not fighting back more. Link is stronger than he seems, but Ganon one-ups him at every turn. Trapped within the strings of the web, all wrapped up nice and tidy, Link has nowhere to go. The spider will crawl towards him, fangs outstretched, and limbs entwined with his body, caressing him and promising him a better life. Once it has him in its grasp, it will eat him, and it will let the whole world know that it killed the hero of the tale–that it killed the invincible fly.

Ganon presses another finger at his entrance, and he clams up, his feet slipping on the ground. It’s dirt! How is he slipping in the dirt? Gods, he’s probably filthy by now…when Ganon forces that second finger in, spreading both fingers so far that his hole can do nothing but forcibly open, Link grimaces and lets out a small whimper. That feeling in his lower abdomen blossoms into something vicious and unrelenting, a true testament to all that’s happening to him.

“It’s not your fault. Ganon is a veteran when it comes to defiling and manipulating those around him! Don’t give up, Link!” Zelda’s voice echoes in his head, and he wonders if she’s communicating with him, able to hear his own thoughts. Link doubts it, but he can’t be too sure if he’s hearing things to comfort himself or if there’s a legitimate bond between them.

Link looks down, noticing how hard his own cock is, and he hisses at the sight. Precome leaks from the tip, falling down the side of his shaft, and no matter how hard he tries, there is no denying that his body likes this. It would be so easy to give in, to let Ganon have his way and grin and bear it until it's over. But Zelda’s words ring true in his head–he can’t give up.

Slurping noises snap him out of his haze, and he scrunches his face up, grossed out by the sounds. Ganon’s tongue goes between his fingers, matching the pace of their movements, and Link clenches around him when he tries to add a third finger.

“No, please, Ganon…” He mutters, knowing he can hear it. It doesn’t stop him–in fact, Link would dare to think it encourages him. Turned on by the refusal and the fighting; what a depraved man!

Ganon exhales heavily and pulls his tongue out, leaving his fingers inside. He leans his head back, staring up at Link with a gaze that has lust written all over it. Enamored would be a risky word to use to describe him, but Link can’t think of a better way to put it. Link wants to cover his ears when he hears him laugh again–that mocking, cruel, horrible laugh. It makes him ill to his stomach!

His eyes flick to his dick, and Link tries to close his legs together, only to find that he can’t with Ganon in between them. Link makes a noise in confusion, furrowing his brows, and Ganon snorts at the display.

“You’re adorable, Link. Simply adorable. You tasted so sweet; so fragrant. Do you wash yourself frequently down there? If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you’ve been waiting for this moment. Something in you called to me, didn’t it? And you made yourself the most succulent treat for me to eat all on my own.”

Link scowls, shaking his head.

“Oh, and I do love it so when you say my name. Hearing you beg like that is enough to drive me over the edge. Say it again. I want to watch your lips move around my name.” Ganon moves his face forward, tongue out, and licks a line up his shaft, gathering the precome. Link uses his hand to mute his squeal, writhing once more.

The teal glow is the strongest it’s been. Link can’t help but wonder if it’s influenced by everything going on.

Three fingers spear him open; his hole considerably more stretched now than it was before. He still resists and digs his heels into the dirt, but there’s not much else he can do like this. Ganon hums low in his throat and clicks his tongue.

“I think you’re well-stretched. Though I must warn you, I am considerably large. Most women have a difficult time taking me, but I have no doubts that you will swallow me whole.” He brings Link back down into the warm water, and there’s no denying that it feels wonderful on the tense muscles. But that is the only enjoyment he will allow himself.

Ganon slides his fingers out and turns him around, pressing Link firmly against his front. “Sit on me. I have yet to please myself–you will assist.”

Link whips his head around, looking up at Ganon from where he’s placed, and the demon king grins. “You’ve touched yourself, haven’t you? Then you should know what to do. Oh, well, I don’t mind teaching a shy girl how to please her mate.”

His hand grabs his right hand, guiding it down to between Link’s legs, where his cock stands. Link has tried to tune it out for the past few minutes, but now he has to acknowledge that it is huge. Ganon was not lying when he said he was considerably large. It makes Link look like a dwarf in comparison, though he’s not very large to begin with. Ganon is a monster, and his cock is even more so.

He lets out a small gasp when his palm touches the side of Ganon’s shaft, and Ganon breathes in deeply.

“Never have I felt so relieved to have someone touch me. Look what you do to me, eromenos! So hard and leaking uncontrollably–it’s unlike me to be so affected by someone, yet somehow you’ve done it. Good girl,” Ganon grunts out, and Link feels his chest rise into his back. His hand is shaking, and that teal glow is undeniable even under the water. Link tries to avoid looking down, focusing on the rocks and cavern walls that greet him ahead.

Ganon guides his fingers, wrapping them around his length, and Link’s eyes widen when he realizes he can’t fit his fingers around the entire width of him. Oh, gods. He’s a beast!

“You’re so–.” Link starts before smacking his hand over his mouth and biting down on his palm as punishment for saying something.

“I’m so what, Link? Go on, say it, or I’ll take you outside this cavern and fuck you in front of that princess. You wouldn’t want her to see you like this, would you?” He threatens, and Link feels warm tears spill out of the corners of his eyes.

With a shuddering inhale, Link shakes his head. “You’re so big.”

Everything he does is for the princess, he tells himself. The humiliation, the pain, the tolerance, all of it is for Zelda’s sake. She can’t take the weight of another disaster striking Hyrule, and he’s not going to be the one that places that on her shoulders.

With Ganon’s hand over his own, Link cringes when he feels him move it up and down, forcing him to wank him. Warm breath creeps into his ear, and grunts and groans become the only sounds Link can hear. The tears won’t stop coming out, and he loathes the thought of crying in front of the enemy. He has never done this before–he has never broken down completely in the presence of whoever he’s fighting.

This is so horrible that Link doesn’t even know how to describe the traumatic nature of this situation. Is this the goddess' way of punishing him for being selfish and thinking of himself first? Is this all in his head?

Above, the thunder has started to stop, leading to the quiet drips of rainwater through the various holes in the cave. Link pretends that his hand is detached, that there is no feeling in it, and that he’s lost control of it. Ganon grips him tightly, applying more pressure to his cock, and his thumb brings Link’s up to rub at the glans, with more groans being a sign that he enjoys it.

“Your tears…oh, how I love them. Keep crying; that’s exactly what I want out of my women. Little thing…soon you’ll come to appreciate the sorrow as much as I have.”

Precome drips over his knuckles, and Link sobs, unable to hold back.

It’s getting to be overwhelming. Ganon is overwhelming–a mass of darkness that corrupts everything he touches. Spiders kill and eat their prey after mating with them; Link can only hope he offers him some mercy and lets him go afterward. If he doesn’t…

Link glances down to see his right hand glowing.

Ganon rumbles behind him, pulling his hand off and sighing. “I don’t want to lose myself this early on. We’ve barely gotten to the good part.” He rubs his thumb over Link’s knuckles, wiping off the precome, and he shudders.

Both hands come up under his knees, pulling his legs back all the way to his shoulders. Link wriggles in his hold, knowing what comes next. It’s not hard to put two and two together, not when Ganon has been implying it for the entirety of this session.

If his tongue and fingers can go in his ass, then that means…

He briefly lets go of Link for one second, his hand going underneath the water. It takes a moment for it to register in his brain, but Link shrieks when he feels the head of his cock pressing against his entrance. It’s slick, mostly from the precome, and it’s massive.

“I’m going to breed you like the bitch you are, and you’re going to like it.”

Ganon holds onto his knees tightly, afraid to let go and risk Link running away again. Link stumbles over his words, struggling to get a simple "no" out before Ganon can do anything. He can’t stop hyperventilating; his breath is too quick and too short. Not enough oxygen is getting to his brain, which could make this even worse.

And he hasn’t even breached him…that’s how much power Ganon has over Link.

What a miserable thought.

“Wouldn’t that be just a lovely sight? Hyrule's hero, teeming with my kin. There’d be no denying I took you as my own, and you’d have no choice but to have them. The ultimate retaliation after you destroyed me all those years ago." He’s rambling, too distracted by the fantasy he has created in his head, instead of focusing on getting that damn cock inside of him.

Link’s legs burn from the stretch, but he’s a very pliant man. It’s easy for Ganon to spread him so far and so wide, and Link certainly feels exposed like this. He smears his cock against his entrance, teasing him, and Link can only close his eyes and wish for all of this to be over.

After what feels like an eternity of pestering, Ganon sinks into him, exhaling loudly, like one does when their aching muscles are relieved by an elixir or some massages. Each inch of his cock is double the length of his own, pressing against his inner walls and forcing him to relax. Slowly, Ganon manages to get halfway inside of him before stopping for a moment.

“Can you feel me inside of you? Only I get this pleasure; none can best me at what I do. Admit it, Link. You want this. You want my children. Such a shame that you can’t bear such a burden. Oh, but you do just fine bearing the weight of your friends’ deaths.” Ganon snorts, pushing him down until his balls hit his behind and he sighs in relief.

“You take me so well, sucking me in like you were made for this. It is the goddess's destiny that we be together like this, isn’t it? That silly princess could never do this.”

He’s right. Zelda wouldn’t rape him. She wouldn’t berate him and threaten him with the safety of Hyrule hanging in the air.

Zelda is kind and sweet–something that Link can never have now that he’s been corrupted with malice. Tainted by the beast, thrown to the wolves, and robbed of his dignity. He had been saving himself for the right person because, eventually, no matter who, he was going to be with someone. Was going to fall in love.

Not now. Not when he’s being filled to the brim and forced to make love to his enemy. He doesn’t deserve to have the Triforce of Courage, nor does he deserve the title of Hyrule’s hero. Link can’t even avenge his friends like he wanted, all because he chose to come here and vent his frustrations.

Thinking selfishly only lands you in hot water, and he’s quite literally in the hottest of waters.

Ganon takes his time thrusting into Link, bringing him down whenever he pulls out slightly. Link would assume he’s trying to get him used to it, but he knows he’s tearing, unable to take such a thick cock. His body wasn’t built for someone as massive as Ganon, and they both know it. It takes two to tango, as Zelda would put it, and Link can only hang his head in shame, knowing he’s given in when he should have fought.

“So tight, like a virgin. Just how I like it–a pretty woman all to myself. No hero would do this, would they? I suppose not.” So he answers his own questions now instead of asking Link to answer them? Odd behavior.

He picks up the pace, slamming into him each chance he gets and angling Link just right. Link’s toes curl when he brushes against a sensitive spot, and Ganon cackles, pressing against it again and again.

“I want you to–ugh–feel as good as I do. I want you to never forget me like this, forever stuck with the memory that we copulated. Us, Link. Not you and that princess.”

His dick is so big, squeezing through his walls and massaging every inch. Link swears it’s going into his stomach, penetrating him so deeply and thoroughly. He can’t imagine a woman going through this, but then again, they’re built for this sort of thing, right? He yelps when Ganon slams into that spot, rumbling in approval at the noise.

“Getting careless with your noises now, are we? You can’t run from reality forever, eromenos. Just accept that you enjoy this, and it’ll be the most bliss you’ve experienced.” He’s tricking him, fooling him into thinking he’ll be satisfied once Link makes a noise.

Ganon bounces him in his lap while his feet dangle uselessly in the air, a blooming knot in his stomach growing with each press against the spot. Link knows he’s breathing loudly, trying to find a way to stop the noises.

Eventually, Ganon is fucking into him so deeply and so quickly that he’s hardly pulling out before burying himself in to the hilt. That spot is relentlessly rubbed, and Link knows he's lost the battle when he moans wantonly, his head falling back against Ganon's shoulder.

“That’s right. Moan for me; make it known that I’m pleasuring you so deeply,” he coos, gentle in his tone. Skin slaps against skin, wetly and grotesquely, and Link cries out, his hands struggling to decide what to do. He resorts to grabbing Ganon’s biceps and hanging on for the ride.

Up and down, up and down–an endless cycle of moving and grinding against him. Link weeps, tears trailing down his cheek, and Ganon leans forward, licking them up. He likes the tears; he likes to know that he’s causing pain.

Link can't stop the knot in his stomach from growing larger and larger until he screams, clutching Ganon so tightly as the best orgasm of his life takes him by storm. Come splatters against his chiton, but it will eventually be washed away by the water. Ganon gathers some with his hand, only letting go for a moment to stick his fingers inside his mouth. Link gags at the thought of him enjoying the taste, and he whimpers, the overstimulation taking over.

“Stop…please, I can’t…”

“Oh? Then how about this?”

Ganon picks him up, tossing him down over the edge of the hot spring. Link lands with a heavy thud, his hair falling over the dirt and his face. He sighs and drools as Ganon rubs his cock against his stomach, sliding around and marking him. He didn’t even realize his chiton had ridden up.

"I'm going to show you how far inside you you’ve allowed me to go, little hero." Ganon pushes both knees down so they’re flat against the dirt, and he makes sure Link is lying still. He grabs his hand, places it on his stomach, right above his pathetically smaller cock, and grins. “Just wait and see.”

Link's hole gapes as the blunt, thick head of his shaft enters without resistance. He quivers at the sensation of it back inside of him, wishing he could be anywhere but there. He ejaculated. Shouldn’t that be the end of their little tryst?

In a second, everything changes. Something bulges against his hand, and he screams, tearing it away and holding his face. What the hell is it?!

“That’s me. Inside of you. You’re so pretty when you’re impaled like this, nearly breaking at the seams from how deep into you I am. It’ll be a crime to see you in any other way.” Ganon breathes out, slamming into him relentlessly now, chasing his own pleasure. Link cries, knowing it only further encourages the man to thrust deeper into him. His guts are being rearranged, and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to function right for weeks after this.

“So close. God, you’re going to make me explode.” He shakes his head, leaning down and kissing Link passionately. Link opens his mouth for fear he’ll blackmail him again, and his tongue bullies its way in, rubbing against his own frantically as Ganon pumps into him at a consistent pace.

Before Link can pull away, feeling the way his cock throbs inside of him, he stops.

All hell breaks loose. Link shouts when he feels his seed spilling out inside of him, deep. It’s warm and horrifically thick. And there is no water to wash this off. He kicks his legs, surprised that there’s still energy left in his body, and Ganon sighs into his mouth, pulling apart. More spit falls on him, and he grins.

“I want to do this again, sometime. I think I’ll take you back home with me. No one would miss you. They don’t care for you like I do.”

No. No! Link can’t go back to the Gerudo Desert with him! He can’t let himself fall victim to such blasphemous ways!

“No…you got what you wanted…don’t take me! You’re…you’re lying!” He weeps, Ganon thrusting into him from time to time, milking himself dry of all the seed he has to offer. Link can feel it squishing out around his hole and dripping into the water below, and he wants to vomit.

Ganon pulls out of him slowly, watching as he does so, and rolls his eyes. “You’ll come to find out I’m right about many things, eromenos. Now you’re mine. And I’m never letting go. Now," he says, grabbing Link's hips and dragging him back. “Come back in the water with me and relax before we head out there.”

Link feels that horrible panic grip him again, and he looks at his hand. Its glow is the most intense it’s been, and he grits his teeth, bringing his arm up and aiming it at Ganon.

“Leave me alone!”

A blast explodes from his hand, and Ganon is knocked back into the hot spring. He yells, holding his face and muttering curses at Link. Now’s his chance! Now is when he can go back to Zelda!

In more pain than he’d care to admit, Link gets to his feet and wobbles toward his shorts. He pulls them back on, soaking wet, and gasps as more sobs leave him.

“I’m never going with you! I hate you, Ganon! I hate you!” He screams with such rawness in his voice–he's not used to using it for this long–and he sprints towards the exit.

Link uses what little light there is from the entrance and his muscle-memory to run back to Zelda, tears running down his face as he does so. He doesn’t want to think about Ganon’s hands on him; he doesn’t want to think about him licking him and putting his dick inside of him.

He wants it all to go away, just like he wants the pain of losing his friends to go away.

The light from outside trickles in, and he cries out in relief, spotting Zelda standing right there.

“Link! Link, are you alright?!” She screams and dashes towards him. He holds his arms out, wrapping them around her and collapsing in her hold. They both go to the ground, and he sobs into her, burying his face in her shirt.

Zelda, startled, raises a brow. “Did Ganon come back? Did he do this to you? I…I thought I heard some commotion, but I was too afraid to go in. I’m sorry, Link! Oh, Gods, this is all my fault.” She looks down at his legs, and he knows she sees the come trickling down his thigh. If she does, though, she doesn’t say anything.

“I’m so sorry…I’m sorry. Let’s go back home and get you cleaned up, alright? I promise, Link, he won’t hurt you again.” She whispers, and he clings to her even as they get up.

Walking away, Link turns to look at the cavern entrance when they’re a far distance away, and he winces at the sight of Ganon standing there, watching him.

He’ll always be watching him, scorned by his rejection.

Link can’t help but get the awful feeling that he will come back for him.

Two Months Later

They’re standing in the courtyard when Link finally makes his way out of the castle, having dressed himself in his casual clothes. The others said it was an emergency, though not one pertaining to Hyrule’s safety.

After the fiasco in the cavern, Link has avoided talking much to the others. Zelda knows what happened, but she doesn’t speak of it to him. She offered him some elixirs afterward to stave off any illnesses and cleaned his clothes, but that’s about the only time she mentioned it.

He steps down into the courtyard, surprised to find Riju and Buliara standing there with a very concerned Zelda.

“Champion! Come, we bear…gifts for you.” Buliara’s commands are still sounding as frightening as ever. She towers over both Riju and Zelda, bearing her claymore. Riju holds something in her arms, and Zelda looks at Link with a concerned look.

“I tried to ask them who gave these gifts, but they wouldn’t say…though I have a sneaking suspicion.” Zelda sighs, holding a letter in her hands. Link stands by her side, taking matters into his own hands. Riju comes closer, and he notices a rabbit in her arms. A black one, complete with a ribbon around its neck.

“Isn’t she cute? Her name is Rhea! She’s the bravest of warriors, as I was told by the man. Perfect for a champion such as yourself!” Riju holds her out, and Zelda smiles, gently telling her to put it down while Buliara grimaces, and she hands him a sprig of flowers out of her hand.

“And these. Picked from the finest of plants we have in the valley.” Then, under her breath, “This is wrong…”

Link likes the rabbit, and the flowers are lovely, but what he’s most concerned about is the letter. He nods at Zelda, giving her permission to open it, and she tears into the seal, unfolding the paper.

Riju titters, bouncing on her heels. “I would like to see it! Who is your secret admirer? Buliara won’t even tell me! Oh, such a dramatic story! It’s like the romance novels Mama would get from here!”

Buliara scowls, leaning down to speak to Riju. “I told you, you are not old enough for those yet!”

She pouts. “Mama used to read them to me…”

“And I am saying they are for adults, young lady. Your mother chose…special scenes for you.”

Zelda holds the letter out for the two of them to read together, and Link’s heart drops when he realizes who’s sent these gifts.

Dearest eromenos,

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, so I will be making my trip back to Hyrule shortly. I’ve sent gifts to prepare you for my next visit…I do hope you are considering my offer.

Forever yours,

Ganondorf

A sneer of disgust crosses Zelda’s features, and Link shoves the letter away, trembling.

“I will stop him from getting close to you. Ladies, please return these to the monster that sent them. Link will not be accepting.” Zelda hands Buliara the letter, who seems to be relieved at the rejection.

Riju gasps. “Even Rhea? Can’t she stay? Please?” She holds her head up, batting her lashes.

Link sighs, turning to Zelda and nodding.

Zelda raises a hand.

“The rabbit will stay…”

Riju grins, jumping excitedly with the rabbit in her arms. Link wraps his arms around himself, turning away from the rest and looking out at the rest of the courtyard.

Ganon promised that soon he would come to appreciate the sorrow.

“It seems I already have,” Link thinks, as a single tear falls down his face.