Time's Moving Faster Than I Can Count

Time's End

The effect was immediate. All the monsters seemed to begin retreating, hurrying in the direction of the woods. Time followed, knowing the capable warriors of the kingdom could handle the stragglers. It wasn't like he had much to stick around for, he may as well distract and divert as many as he could. He didn't know where Malon went, but he wasn't going to risk her being followed or killed. He wouldn't risk the Lost Woods falling to evil either, not again. Many monster forces managed to escape through multiple borders, many were crushed by the remaining fighters, and many more were chased by Time through the woods they tried to escape through. He followed them deep into the woods.

Every fight with the Stalfos gained him new injuries, and with every monster he felled, the more energy drained from him completely. He began staggering through the woods, unable to stop the mass bleeding. The slice across his leg had tried to heal as he ran, but every step had torn it open again and again. Though his pants were black, there was a deep, crimson sheen to them. His boots that were once brown now had trails of red through them, and every footstep left prints of his life leaving him behind. His right shoulder was almost completely hacked off, hanging on by mere strands of muscle and weak bone. Multiple wounds dragged across his abdomen, the broken metal of his armour digging into them and making them worse. A jagged blade was embedded into his right shoulder blade, a shallow but dangerous slash clawed across his entire neck, and the right side of his face had been bludgeoned badly. The white eye was gone, replaced by an empty socket that wept with blood.

A few of the assassins had followed him as he chased the Stalfos through the woods, and he was going to lead them to their doom. He knew they were there to kill him, but he was going to make them work for it. That was, if they could get him before the woods did. Or before the woods got them. He would die regardless, his wounds were too great. Even if they did get him, the woods would destroy them before they ever got out. He knew how to get to the deepest part, and he would lead them there. No one would find him, but no one would find them either.

His vision became blurry, darkness lingering around the edges, and his hearing was drowned out by the constant thudding of his rapidly dying heart. Every breath was like inhaling syrup, and he choked on every inhale. Eventually, he reached a very small clearing deep in the woods, and he couldn't hold himself up anymore. He fell roughly against a tree, blood splattering everywhere from how rough he landed. He choked again, coughing up more blood. It dribbled down his chin, mingling with the older, drying liquid he had already lost. He listened to the breeze, remembering a time long gone, and barely a minute later, the assassins found him. He allowed himself a small smile.

They were in too deep now.

The first one lunged at him, and despite his weakness and damaged arm, he managed to raise both arms and stopped him. With his weak hand, he was able to grab the dagger and push the man away, but just barely. He grabbed the dagger with his good hand and hurried to embed it into the man's neck. He fell to the side with a horrible gargle, and Time looked defiantly at the other two. He noticed they were two women, and both had scowls on their face. He couldn't see them very well anymore, but he was certain they were Sheikah.

Both women charged at the same time, and he managed to kick one down, but the other jumped onto him and began repeatedly stabbing him in the chest. His broken armour made it easy to reach his tender flesh, and she knew it. Every stab was fire through his nerves, and the darkness around his vision increased, but he wasn't done yet. He coughed up blood directly onto her, and she flinched back in disgust. He used the momentary opening to grab a spare dagger he kept with him and throw it at her, somehow managing to hit her directly in the face. She made a strangled noise combined with a scream and staggered backwards, hitting the floor.

The other woman screamed in rage and charged at him. Through her recklessness, he was able to throw her aside with his good arm, and he heard a sickening crack as she hit a tree to the side of him. He heard her slump down slowly, gasping for breath. He wasn't sure if any of them were dead, not fully, but he was losing his energy fast.