Edited as of July 30, 2019

420 words

I'd always imagined my death as valiant, something to remember. A hero's death, if you will. A huge fight, a battle of the ages, something that would go down in history as the most epic duel of all time. I never, ever thought I'd be killed by surprise. Yet as I look down to the silver blade that pierced me from behind, it seems I was wrong.

I feel nothing, really, except the uncomfortable feeling of the sword inside me. The blade isn't in a very good place for me: piercing right through my solar plexus, just missing my ribs and my spine, angled diagonally. How strategic.

It takes me a good minute to realize I'm bleeding, and a good two to feel the hurt. My hands uselessly hover around, groping at the blade's point. I cut my fingers, red scratches blooming on my skin and adding to the cuts I already have down my palms and wrists.

I try and turn around to see my assailant, but their grip on the blade anchors me in my paralyzed position. I don't see them, rather, I feel it when they yank the blade out harshly, removing all support and leaving my legs to uselessly buckle underneath me.

A deep and sadistic voice says something, but I can't understand over the ringing in my ears. I internally scream to move, but my arms won't cooperate and I'm left to stare at the black boots they put in front of my face. With a snap, my attacker is gone, leaving me to bleed out on this remote dirt path.

Warm blood spills from my mouth, and I sluggishly override all of my common sense and push myself to a kneeling position, using the nearest thick tree for support. I see a puddle of blood on the dirt where I was laying and press my palm to my chest as hard as I can to try and stem the alarming red splotch there.

Tripping sadly over my own feet, I stumble along the path to the Zora's Domain, hoping to Hylia and the Golden Three that I make it to the final stretch at least.

My heart thumps slowly, trying to push the rest of my blood around.

When the crystalline blue kingdom comes into view, I sigh, slumping against the nearest tree. My legs give out from underneath me and I sink into an awkward, crumpled position, head tilted back towards the grey and gloomy sky.

The last thing I see is the slight shimmer of a rainbow in the murky grey clouds.