I couldn't stop running. I hadn't been strong enough; there were too many of them, and I couldn't cut them down. I knew that I was being cowardly, but no higher thought of courage could hold back the waves of fear that rolled over my body.

And so I ran, but someone was following me. Rather something's. It was the army of beasts that I had left behind, and leading them in their hunt was the Demon Lord. Raised from the dead, Ghirahim pursued me mercilessly, his cackles rising above the grunts of his monsters.

My lungs burned with fire, and my legs were numb with pain. My whole body begged for me to stop and rest, but I knew I couldn't. If I stopped, the darkness would wrap around me and the beasts would tear me apart.

Why do you run little boy?

Stumbling in my sprint, it took me a moment to realize that the Demon was speaking in my mind.

Drop your sword; the grass is soft. I'll provide the darkness, just sleep.

"Get out of my head!" I screamed and tried to push myself faster. But it was useless, for my exhausted body listened to Ghirahim's words. No matter my terror, the fatigue weighing down my limbs slowly brought me to a halt.

My hands were slick with perspiration, and I didn't even realize my sword had slipped from my grasp until I heard it clatter on the ground. I bent over to retrieve it, but my legs buckled, and I collapsed. Admitting defeat, I closed my eyes and waited.

You think your death would come so easily, Hero of Time?

My eyes flying open, I had just enough time to see the dark hands that were coming towards me before they wrapped around my throat, slowly strangling the life out of me. I tried to swing my sword, but then I remembered that I had dropped it on the ground. I was defenseless.

You are a coward, little boy.

I struggled to argue, but I couldn't speak because of the darkness choking me.

You abandoned your family. I might have let your family live, but since you fled--since you made me angry--I had no choice but to change my mind.

All around me appeared the bodies of the ones I loved. There was Gaepora, and Groose, and the broken form of my best friend, Pipit. A little ways from them was the white-haired guardian, Impa, and beside her lay Zelda, the fear still shining clearly in her lifeless eyes. No doubt Impa died protecting her; faithful to the very end.

You betrayed them, Ghirahim whispered, his grip around my neck tightening.

No I didn't! I wanted to scream, but I knew it was the truth. With guilt racing through me and my heart aching with a deep pain I'd never known before, I struggled at the Demon Lord's hands. My efforts were futile; even if I was able to disentangle his grip from my neck, the beasts surrounding us would kill me before I could escape.

Sleep, little boy, Ghirahim commanded. Stop this fighting.

Taking one last look at Zelda's battered form, my eyes slipped close. Releasing my hold on this world, I drifted away; Lord Ghirahim's cackles following in my wake.