Only one word comes to mind. And even then, it does not do this justice.

Genius.

Excellent writing! Wonderful insight. And oh man oh man...Zelda confessed to breaking Link. Do you mind if I pull this concept into my own story? The concept of taking an innocent boy and breaking him...turning him into a monster. I love it.
Love the angst. mwahaha

Amazing. Very, very, very nice. I hope you finish/ update your other fics soon. You're a really good writer.

awsome dude

-the ygger

Hey ho, remember me?

Well, it's time to put the critical review cap on...

The idea is good - same as last time, tweaked around slightly, and it still works. You reused the phrase "For while Power has its strength, and Courage its bravery, Wisdom needs a sword" which was probably a good idea since that line was probably what sold the previous version.

Another good thing is your addition of more selling lines, so to speak. "When a child is given nothing, but instead thrust into the world of life and death without a clue of why he is truly there. . .he becomes something. . .less than human." ... deep, truly. The contrast against the two statements that go before it makes its impact all the more meaningful. A clever way to go at things.

One thing I liked from the original that I find somewhat disappointing in this version is the amount of action: currently, in the beginning there is too much. I believe that if you're going to try and put a psychological slant on it, place less words on the actions going around. While I know Zelda is the observer, maybe get her to comment on the actions rather that state the actions themselves. Maybe it's a deliberate style, but the sentences used for the battle are pretty long, comma and "and" intensive that doesn't appear to push the plot or thought process very far. Is it to show how little she cares?

A few typos here and there - I can't quite find them, but I believe they were for the words determined and meagre - but otherwise everything looks quite well drafted.

A nice take 2, I have to say. Aside from the battle scenes, the whole thing flows very nicely, drawing us into this "strongest survive" world you've touched up and delivering Zelda's character very smoothly. Now I'd like a bit more attention paid to Trial of a Man (I read it, but haven't reviewed it yet. Maybe that's a danger of long chapters - lethargy) or Destiny of a Boy (is that still up? That novelisation was pretty cool.)

Keep working on things! We should talk more often - a tragedy we don't - but we all have stuff in life we must attend to first. Until your next update... or mine, depending on whether you review as well.. cheers!

Ode to a dying Diablo 2,
Silence-Darkness

Well, I certainly liked it. It's a great idea for a one-shot and kinda creepy, which I like, so good job. You only let me down in the slight repetition of phrases and the over-use of the word "and". There are many cases where it could be "while" or "as" but because they were all "and", it didn't seem as good tome as it potentially could be.

You're good with ideas just by looking at this, you just need a teensy bit more work on grammar.

She seems a little...cold hearted...

Oh wow... this was excellent! Wait... beyond excellent! Magnificent!

Link: Aren't magnificent and excellent synonyms?

Me: Shut up. Anway... How we all love a twisted Zelda! ::Claps excitedly:: Heh, this reminds me of something I wrote and never posted (a poem naturally... ^^), particularly when Zelda calls Link a Hylian monster, a demon of her invention (or something of the sort). Gotta love it. But of course, I always liked twisted characters... exploiting their perverted nature in like-wise twisted stories has always been a hobby of mine... o_O

Anyway, this review has no raison d’être, beyond congratulating you on this magnificent one-shot. I beg of you to write more! You're stories are original and magnificent, and your prose fluid! I aspire to write with such skill and grace! Keep it up H7, keep it up!

Adios and bonne chance,

- Selah

Far away from what I could have expected. Either extremely well thought out, or writing strewn about with muse-like inspiration. Fantastic use of description and wordplay.

Zelda is so mean! ^^;; actually that's very close to my oppinion on her, though you don't see it often in fanfics. I like this a lot, though I would've liked to see what happened at the end of the battle.

...Wow. Very interesting way of looking at Zelda's motives. Very nice one-shot too. I ant to go on but I'm not eloquent enough to describe how good and unique this is. Great job!

I really like this. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I reading, but I think you do a really good job with Zelda's inner monologue - definately not what I was expecting from her.
Very, very impressive stuff. =)

...MASTERPIECE. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE WHAT I JUST READ. MY FAVORITE PART HAD TO BE THE CLOSING STATEMENT, "KNOWLEDGE IS A BLESSING, BUT WISDOM IS CRUEL." HOW TRUE THAT CAN BE.
SIGNED,
MOURNBLADE

... Wow. Really, this was amazing. I love the way you make sidestories for your main story yet make them so... lively, much unlike the many crappy ones I couldn't be bothered to read. Keep it going.

Wow. That's dark. I did enjoy it though... probably because I'm a firm believer in situations where a Hero has to sacrifice everything he is to save everything he loves. In all the greatest epics, the main characters somehow trancsend what they were, and become what destiny would make of them. Hmm as far as tips go... don't think there's a lot I can tell you, 'cuz you've got your own unique style of writing, and to try and shape it to what other people say kind of destroys that. Obviously, without spellcheck it's kind of hard to make sure all the grammar's ok, so don't worry about that at all. Oh, one quick point, about the hero being a monster? It's a great point but you almost use it too much... in my own highly opinionated opinion, of course. While I'm here though, should I also comment on Trial of a Man? Nah I'll comment in there, see if we can get your reviews up over 200 ;)
-Ammiel