Sword of Demise.

A cursed weapon once wielded by the king of all evil. According to legend, this unbreakable sword has survived since the birth of Hyrule.

Link looked down at the short description scrolled across his Sheikah Slate, and then back at the sword in front of him, considering. It wasn't exactly strange to find large, foreboding swords abandoned in the middle of nowhere these days, so that wasn't what made him pause. To be honest, he wasn't sure why he'd decided to exercise caution now when he'd never noticed such a thing in his nature before, except that this whole situation gave him bad vibes. Maybe it was the sword that made him inexplicably uneasy, or maybe it was the claw-like stone formations of the Breach of Demise above, but either way he had the uncomfortable feeling of ants marching up and down his spine.

Then again, it might have just been that dubious food he ate for lunch. He should have known that one would come back to bite him.

Still, deciding to employ prudence for the first time in what little he remembered of his life, Link sat back on his heels and began mentally composing a list of pros and cons. Free sword? A pro! Cursed sword? ...Yeah, that was a con. "Wielded by the king of all evil" was probably a con, too, but it was also really cool, so he counted that as neutral.

Unbreakable, though? That was a pro. A very big pro. Cursed or not, that was worth roughly five points on the pros list, considering Link's track record with swords.

Hanging the Slate from his belt and clapping his hands abruptly, Link made up his mind. A sword was a sword was a sword, and Link needed swords. He'd picked up a hundred swords already and never once regretted it.

After all, Link thought as he reached for the hilt, what was the worst that could happen?

Much later, when all was said and done, Link would still insist that what happened next wasn't necessarily "the worst." As it was, though, the surge of black and white diamonds that swallowed the sword at his touch caught him off guard, and he fell backwards in shock, watching the flurry of shapes rise higher. Dimly, Link considered that he might take the phrase "cursed weapon" a bit more seriously in future escapades—but almost as soon as he finished that thought, the flow of diamonds vanished. Instead of the empty space they had occupied, though, there now stood… huh.

Link tilted his head, staring up at the back of a pointed red cloak. The Hyrule Compendium hadn't mentioned this.

"I swear," the man who had once been diamonds growled, and Link jerked in surprise as a number of pointed daggers appeared to hover in midair, aimed directly at his face. "If one of you brutes has attempted to pick me up again, I'll— "

The unfinished threat cut off as he turned, his gaze trailing to settle on Link on the ground. He looked as astonished as Link felt, which was somehow emboldening. Weakly, Link offered him a wave.

"You're not a Moblin," the man said slowly, with such doubt that Link almost paused to check before shaking his head. "No, you're much too scrawny for that."

Still, the daggers didn't vanish as he leaned in closer. Much closer. So close that the only way to regain any sort of acceptable distance between them would be to fall flat on his back, something that Link was seriously considering doing.

The man's eyes glinted mischievously as he brushed back unnaturally straight hair—so he could see, Link assumed, based on how it kept trying to fall into his eyes.

"Bit pretty, aren't you?" was his eventual assessment as he stood up straight again, and Link might have spoken up defensively if he hadn't been so relieved to have his space back. "And of course you had to be blonde. Still, beggars can't be choosers." Drawing himself up, the man struck a performer's pose, his arms spread out theatrically as he tossed his head. "So, human, you wish to bear my sword?"

Link wanted this less than he had a minute ago, but wondered if that would be rude to say.

"I, um, didn't realize it had an owner," he hedged, crawling back slowly and wondering if he should try to make a break for it. Even if he could get his shield out in time, he'd have a job of it blocking all those daggers. "You know what, though? I touched it without bothering to check, and that one's on me. Maybe I should just—"

"Nonsense!" the man interrupted him, his eyes positively glittering now as he watched Link's ineffective retreat. Stepping forward casually, his foot just so happened to catch the edge of Link's cloak, holding him in place. "The sword is not mine, you silly child. I am the sword!"

Catching Link's blank look of confusion, he sighed.

"Maybe that's too much to explain right now. Would you at least allow me to vent before you go scampering off?" he asked, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and doing the best impression of a person draped dramatically over a bed that anyone without a bed could possibly do. "You can't imagine how it's been for me these past few years."

Link looked from the man, to the sword, to the dying valley around them, and thought he could take a guess.

"Rough?" he asked, and the man's eyes flashed with vindication.

"Rough!" he cried in agreement, throwing himself backwards into a chair made of diamonds that hadn't existed only a second before. Link had just enough time to yelp as the ground shifted beneath him before he, too, was pushed up into an almost identical chair, the two of them seated across from each other for all the world as if they were enjoying a friendly tea party in a parlor. At knifepoint. "It was hard enough just escaping the demon realm in the first place, I'll have you know. This isn't like the old days. Such a thing hasn't been done in thousands of years…"

Groaning internally, Link realized he was in this for the long haul, and shifted to make himself comfortable. Maybe if he snuck out the Sheikah Slate and warped himself out of here, this man (Sword? Demon?) wouldn't realize what he was after until it was too late.

"...and after all that effort spent escaping a literal hellhole, where should I wind up but here, the surface's own literal hellhole." He scowled fiercely, his floating daggers spinning in agitation. "Do you know what manner of creatures have attempted to wield me since I ended up stranded here?"

Again, Link thought he could guess.

"Moblins?"

"Moblins!" The man collapsed against his chair, affronted. "Can you imagine it? The nerve of those beasts, thinking themselves worthy of wielding such… perfection." A wave of his gloved hand somehow managed to capture the entirety of his being. "Not that humans are much better of course, but you are less filthy, which counts for something. If you only knew the grandeur of he who once wielded me…"

"The king of all evil," Link said promptly, starting to enjoy the feeling of being right—though it occurred to him as soon as he said it that he might have held that one closer to the chest. The man's rant halted, and he pinned Link with a thoughtful stare.

"You're remarkably well informed for a human," he said, sitting up slowly. "Have legends of the Demon Lord Ghirahim persisted for so long?"

"The… king of all evil?" Link tried again, though this time he thought he'd missed his stab in the dark. Sure enough, the man smirked at him.

"Not quite. It was Demise who ruled over the underworld once, breaking into the world above to challenge the goddess herself… and I, Lord Ghirahim, stood by his side as his loyal sword. Those were heady days, to be sure…" He faded off artfully as if caught up in memories before dismissing it all with a quick shake of his head. "But there's no use dwelling on the past. I would usually prefer that you mind the 'lord' when you address me, but as you'll be carrying my sword for the foreseeable future, perhaps I can allow a more casual form of address. What are you doing?"

Link froze, his hand caught halfway to his Sheikah Slate.

"Nothing at all," he lied. "Listen, I don't think I ever agreed to…"

Ghirahim raised an eyebrow, the daggers inching in closer, and Link had an unrelated change of heart.

"How cursed is the sword, really?" he asked instead, reluctantly withdrawing his hand. "Very cursed, or like… a little cursed…?"

"Not cursed at all," Ghirahim assured him pleasantly. "It even comes with the benefit of my company, so you could almost say it's blessed."

Incredibly cursed, then. Link chewed on his lip in thought.

"Is it really unbreakable?" he asked abruptly. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all, and even with Ghirahim to contend with, the pros still outweighed the cons. "I break a lot of swords."

"...Concerning." Ghirahim frowned. "But no, that won't be an issue. My blade will remain utterly unscathed, even in your dubious care."

Link nodded, telling himself that he probably shouldn't test that.

"What about the daggers?" Link said. "Do they just follow me around, or…?"

Smiling at Link for just long enough to show off his pointed canines, Ghirahim snapped, and the daggers vanished. Finally, Link gave in.

"Fine," he said, clapping his hands decisively. A sword was a sword was a sword. "I'll get you out of here. I'm going to Rito Village, though, so if you had somewhere else in mind, you'll just have to wait."

Ghirahim opened his mouth as if he would retort, only to pause thoughtfully.

"I… have no specific plans, I'm afraid," he admitted. "For so long, the only goal was to escape the demon realm, and then to escape this valley. I know little of how the world has changed in my absence." He paused. "Do humans still live in the sky?"

Link's brow furrowed. "Not anymore."

"Hmm." Ghirahim shrugged, standing gracefully as the chairs beneath them vanished. Link let out another yelp, dumped unceremoniously onto the ground. "I suppose this Rito Village works as well as anywhere else, for now. What business do you have there?"

Scowling as he dusted himself off, Link pointed to far distant Vah Medoh, barely visible past the pitted, alien cliffs surrounding them.

"Bird needs help," he said succinctly. As the only Divine Beast he'd caught sight of so far, it seemed as good a place to start as any.

"I… see," Ghirahim said doubtfully. "You think yourself some kind of hero, then?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "How do you break so many swords?"

It was Link's turn to shrug, wrenching his sword from the ground and giving it a few good swings before hooking it against his back. Yep, this sword would do nicely. He wondered if there was a talus nearby to test it out on.

For the first minute of their journey together, Ghirahim was quiet, and Link took a moment to appreciate the silence. He thought it might be lacking in the near future.

Sure enough, they had barely gone fifty feet down the valley before Ghirahim had something else to say.

"I don't think I caught your name," he mused, and Link watched him out of the corner of his eye. Falling into step beside him, Ghirahim had taken to staring at Link suspiciously. "I'd prefer not to address you as 'Hero,' for… personal reasons."

The request was reasonable enough, and Link nodded.

"It's Link."

Turning to face the road ahead, it took him a good few paces to realize that Ghirahim had stopped short. Pausing to look back at him, Link frowned. "What?"

"Link," Ghirahim said flatly. "Your name is Link."

Link nodded in confusion, and Ghirahim's mouth twisted.

"You're not, by any chance, on a goddess-given quest to save the world, are you?"

"Actually, I think that's the general gist of it, yeah," Link said. "Why?"

Ghirahim looked at him for another moment before pinching his nose between his fingers, staring up at the sky with a resigned sigh.

"Can I tell you something, Link?" he said at last, speeding up to fall back into pace beside him. Link tilted his head curiously.

"What's that?" he asked, and Ghirahim grimaced.

"Karma's got its kiss for me."

Hours later, camped beside a fire at the edge of Ludfo's Bog and on the verge of falling asleep, Link sat up suddenly.

"You really weren't going to let a Moblin carry you at all?" he asked the sword-man-demon who sat cross-legged beside him, staring into the fire with no apparent intention of falling asleep. "Not even to get out of there?"

Ghirahim spared him a scornful glance.

"Have you ever touched a Moblin?" he asked, shuddering.

Nodding slowly, Link laid back down. Point taken.