Chapter Text
Link plays with the soft feathers between his fingers, lying on the wooden floor, on the soft blanket that Impa has lent him.
The small feathers that tangled in his hair, Minish's, with the colors and patterns so peculiar to him, slide between his fingers delicately.
Several ideas of what to do with them cross his mind, but his favorite is to tie them to a string in some way and create some earrings.
In that house, with a structure similar to the small birdhouses that people hang from trees so that birds can live in them, his worldly thoughts push away from his mind the sensations, or, rather, the lack of sensations, that press his chest.
They push away from his mind the lack of heat that warms his skin, that he cannot feel, despite being next to a small fire in the center of the room. They ward off the lack of greater cold due to the night air that sneaks in through the gaps in that rustic birdhouse.
The Rito had let them stay in the village. The exiled Rito also entered.
Only the lower part of the cliff in the lake had walkways for walking, the rest, built after the first Calamity, lacked these, adapted for the flight of birds.
At some point, Link starts humming a song, the Healing Song. As if that were going to fix the damage caused.
The golden wolf was also gone, lost somewhere along the way between the Watchtower and the village.
Link stops humming when he hears how the old boards on the lower side of the place creak with Impa’s footsteps, who has just returned from one last meeting with the Rito.
He knows she has reached the entrance to their small room when the sound stops almost a meter away from him.
The silence is only covered by the blowing of the wind, as Link struggles to focus on the feathers and not the expression Impa might be making.
"Lili." Impa almost whispers, taking another step forward and sitting on her knees in front of the fire.
The Sheikah keeps her gaze fixed on the controlled flames.
"Ima." Link responds with no emotion in his voice, waiting for his friend to continue with her explanation.
"I've talked to Benno about some things." Link can hear the tension in Impa's voice, causing him to tense up himself. "Link, what-?" Impa stops dead.
What is she supposed to ask? She already knows the answer and the only thing Link can bring to this conversation are painful details.
And despite everything, Link smiles, an empty smile, the emotion of which does not reach his eyes. The same eyes that became empty and dull as his life slipped through his fingers like sand.
He sits up, his limbs throbbing uncomfortably and his body heavy and lethargic.
He hits with the hand next to his twice on the floor, inviting the Sheikah to sit closer to him.
A second of silence is followed by the creaking of wood, until Impa accepts the invitation.
The Sheikah let her hair down, normally tied up in a hairstyle tied with accessories that allows her to fight, and now she lets it fall to the ground, where it meets Link's.
Both cascades of hair look an eerily similar color. Disturbing, considering that Impa's hair color is typical of the Sheikah and Link's... His is supernatural, unnatural.
They let the sound of the wind, leaves, and crickets fill their fearful silence for several minutes. Link watches as Impa's shoulders adopt an increasingly tense posture and her fists clench with increasing force.
That is until her red gaze meets his brown one.
There's something heartbreaking about the way Impa's brows furrow, her lips press together, and a bright line sits at the edge of the lower eyelid of her eyes threatening to form a tear.
Link sees the longing, the need that torments Impa. She wants to do something, anything.
A soft smile appears on Link's lips, in an attempt to comfort the words he is preparing to say.
"You can't save me, Ima." His words, despite being spoken with all the delicacy and understanding he can muster, it hit Impa like a sledgehammer.
A tear manages to escape from the prison of the eyelid and downwards.
However, what he has said is true.
If Impa had accompanied him to those catacombs or the Temple of the Four Heroes, death would have been a certain fate. Because the Sheikah would have gone out of her way to save Link from whatever, to save the only object of her loyalty left to feel stable. She would have forgotten herself in the process.
How could he continue to move forward knowing that he was the cause of her death?
He knows well that no matter how much faith he has in those golden Goddesses, in that sacrificed Goddess. He does not have the reincarnated spirit of a hero, nor does he share blood with any. He only has a borrowed Triforce to keep him breathing.
That brings him to a question that's been banging in the back of his head for almost two years but has now wracked his mind and walked in without asking.
What makes him so special?
Those Goddesses have seen a child be transformed into an adult and returned to a child. They have left him to die in a timeline.
And they didn't do anything.
They have seen a poor teenager turned into a wolf, disowned like a beast.
And they didn't do anything.
They saw a child fight so many times against evil entities that at some point they ended up living in his mind as a dream.
And they didn't do anything.
So...
Why was he saved from dying in the flames?
Why have they brought him back?
His only response is that there is something he has to do. That it doesn't matter that he breaks and suffers so much. He has to do it.
And he has to face it or this hell will never end for him.
Link looks at Impa and for the first time in almost three years, he sees her break down, wrapping her arms around her body, falling over her knees and letting out a strangled sob through her own throat.
"The world is breaking into pieces." Her voice breaks into a higher, muffled timbre as her own pain and stress makes her tremble.
And that makes him break himself. Just imagine what Impa is going through. She loses Zelda, who is everything to her, her world and her purpose, without knowing if she will ever see her again. She has to leave the little princess behind in order to protect her and also, in the hope that it will make it easier for her to protect Link. And now, her hope is broken and she is shattered by the reality that she can only sit and watch as Link becomes a shell of himself, the hero of the Goddess.
It doesn't take long for the tears to break the dam in her eyes and run down. Link leans forward, extending his arms over Impa, giving all the comfort, as useless as it is, he can provide.
"I care about you, Lili." Impa's hands grip the borrowed cloak covering Link, not letting go.
"I know, Ima." He keeps his embrace gentle, not wanting to overwhelm her, despite wanting to hold on the same way he did the day Impa pulled him out of the ashes. That the day when blood stained the sky for the first time.
"Damn Goddesses." Her words are slurred with pain and spit venom laced with resentment.
That makes Link laugh. A bitter, sarcastic laugh.
"No." Link says, as he shakes his head. The Goddesses have chosen him, but for a reason. For someone.
Impa raises her head and her confused gaze meets the intense one, charged with something hot and rotten in Link's eyes that have lost their shine.
"I know exactly who to blame." A smile tugs at the seams of his lips. A smile followed by an irregular heartbeat in his chest as the seed of hatred opens and buries its roots in his heart.
A shaky breath escapes Impa as Link closes her eyes and places a hand over her mouth, pressing his fingers against her tense muscles.
None of them say a word again until sleep catches them and they close their eyes.
Link rests in the relief of the waning white moon.
_
The ground shakes and an explosion echoes against his ears. A wave, gentle enough to pass as a sudden gust of air, makes it difficult for them to open their eyes as they wake up.
The wave passes, swinging the hanging houses and leaving them confused as they hold on to the beams.
When the movement softens enough for him to stand, Link allows himself to sigh wearily, already aware that he has to fix something again.
And they barely have time left, it's been almost a week since the last Crimson Moon and the next one would arrive next week.
"Death Mountain." Impa whispers, watching, despite the distance, in horror as the hot lava slowly descends and the gases come out from the mouth of the volcano.
Link gets up immediately, running to Impa's side and watching that scene.
"The Forest is next door." Link murmurs worriedly and locks eyes with Impa, making the same decision at the same time.
A small gust of wind rises in front of them and Benno lands on the railing of the house.
"Are you alright?" The Rito looks at them both before turning towards the landscape of horror that spreads further and further by the second.
"Yes, but we have to go now," Impa informs, taking a step back as she begins to look for her things.
Link and Benno stare at each other for a few seconds, before Link turns to prepare.
They both prepare their luggage, passing blankets and their own devices.
Link squeezes the zippers of the bags tightly and throws her things at Impa, who catches them in the air, and they proceed to walk as fast as they can over the ancient wood without it breaking and breaking.
Benno and Alash follow them flying next to the walkways and when they go down the last stairs, crossing the half-destroyed bridges.
"Link!" Alash croaks his name, trying to get his attention.
He looks at him and sees a cape trapped in his claws.
"Catch!" The young boy throws him the piece of cloth and says goodbye with the same claw with which he held it, leaving with a smile.
The cape is made of green fabric but the most striking thing is the section that must cover his shoulders and neck, formed by the feather scarf that Alash always wears.
Link smiles at the little boy as he walks away from him, along with his parents who are waiting for him in the hanging houses saying goodbye as well.
Benno then lands next to him and places his hand on Link's shoulder. "Can we talk for a minute?"
The hero looks at Impa and she nods, jumping up the last flight of steps. "I'm going to bring the horses."
Giving him a nod, Link looks at Benno, paying attention and not saying any words.
Benno looks away from Link and onto the cloak he now holds in his arms.
"Alash's mother made him that scarf, she fell ill because of Malice. He was taken into the care of Elalil and Nisl, we were good friends..." The Owl sighs, looking up again. "Then Nisl lost his wing, we didn't have much food and those who are completely healthy are better able to get food, so, like with many others, I had to make a decision. Although Nisl made it for me and left voluntarily, Elalil followed and Alash followed him."
Benno shifts his weight between his paws as a way to release his stress and nervousness.
"Thanks to you, maybe I can recover that friendship, I won't have to make those kinds of decisions again and we can take care of our loved ones properly. Thank you."
Now it is Link who looks away, at the same time that a smile forms on his lips, with a feeling of victory. He had managed to do things right.
"You can keep the tiara." Benno stands up, regaining his composure. "What I'm trying to say is... How can we return the favor?"
For a second, Link is tempted to say that he doesn't have to return any favors, that he did it because he had to and because he wanted to, which is true. However, a dangerous battle is looming on the Field, the people of the Forest would already have to begin mobilizing to the Plateau, although the volcano incident would delay things quite a bit.
With a crooked smile and fixing his gaze on the Rito, which cannot help but ruffle some feathers, Link asks.
"Go to the Great Plateau, we're going to nip the problem in the bud and we're going to need as much help as we can get." Softening his smile and gaze, noticing the Rito leader's discomfort, Link taps his shoulder, shifting his attention to Impa and the mounts.
"See you on the Plateau." Link imitates a military farewell gesture with a smile and jumps down the last steps to his mare.
Benno stands on the railing, watching the duo walk away with some respect.
"See you on the Plateau, Hero." Benno murmurs to the wind before taking flight.
_
The walk back was in silence, with both of them too concerned about going as fast as possible.
Link knows that Epona will demand her reward in the form of a large amount of apples, but he believes that he will survive the payment and subsequent debt.
As the flocks of birds approach, they fly in the opposite direction. Impa cannot see the Koroks gathering far from the forest in her path, trembling and calling out to Link as he passes them.
They don't even reach Rauru Hillside when they start to see some shops, although much fewer than there were in Minshi Forest.
With one last trot on horseback, they arrive at the makeshift camp.
Impa jumps off the horse, running with two of her subordinates, the last ones left in the place, to receive a situation report.
He gets off Epona, looking around, trying to find familiar faces.
"Link!" Ajall runs towards him, followed by Dolon and Elil. "Thank goodness you're back, you can't imagine what's happened."
"I think so." He gestures with his head towards the volcano spewing red lava.
"Trust me, no." Elil rolls her eyes, noticeably fed up with everything that's been happening.
"Wait- What happened to your hair? Is it more...?" Ajall half closes his eyes, sharpening his vision of him.
Link's shoulders tense, as he leans back to hide behind his mare's back. He has neither the desire nor the energy to explain the change in color of his hair.
The captain clears his throat to draw attention back to the topic at hand. "If you want a report..."
Link's eyebrows shoot up at the memory. "Yes, right, please."
The captain nods firmly, turning to where the mountain rises. "The volcano erupted a couple of hours ago, at first the only thing that worried us was the explosion that caused some people to lose consciousness or temporary hearing loss. Taking advantage of the fact that the Gerudo matriarch had returned, we sent the injured to the Plateau, where they had doctors, since the Sithigea could not cope on their own."
The captain waved him to follow him, walking in the direction of Minshi Forest.
"But after the explosion, the lava began to flow and it did not stop, nor has it stopped. In the end it reached where we were."
As they get closer, the air begins to heat up, threatening to burn their lungs, and their eyes begin to irritate.
"Lemoveh... And forgive my lack of manners, I don't know the term by which I should refer to her." Link shakes his head, dismissing it.
His gaze changes from sympathetic to horrified as they get close enough to the camp's old location.
Where before there was vegetation and lakes, of mud, but lakes, now a wall of hot rock stands meters and meters above their heads, expelling corrosive gases and being the only obstacle between the lava that accumulates on the other side, and that covers the path to the Eldin region, and the Great Forest of Hyrule.
"What-?" Link turns with a frown towards Dolon who nods solemnly already knowing his question.
"As I was saying... Lemoveh managed to raise the waters and solidify the lava river, creating a dam, but between the heat and the gases..." The captain purses his lips into a disgusted wrist. "There are those who have suffered burns from the fire that managed to spread, others could not breathe. Lemoveh also had to take them to the Plateau, among those people was Miss Ashey Femwyr, her mother and sister left with her, and many people from the Forest. Those of us who remain have moved away."
Link nods, taking one last look at the mass of rocks before turning. "Let's get out of here now, it's not safe to breathe the air here."
The three Hylians nod, Dolon with his characteristic righteousness and the duo of soldiers nervous and eager to leave.
On the way back, they come across Impa and the other two Sheikah accompanying her.
There are barely a dozen soldiers left in the camp, including his group of three. No civilian.
He does a mental review of people. If everyone is gone, that should include Lasle and the twins too.
Link asks.
"Lasle Seoul left with Lemoveh, she was treating some civilians with burns." Dolon responds, not leaving Link as he walks back and forth, checking the supplies that have been left in the camp. "The Sithigea are still here, they have gone to the Holy Spring."
Link frowns. He can't say that he's happy that the kids are so close to a fountain of burning, toxic lava.
With a thank you, Link says goodbye and runs down the hill, towards the fairy fountain, with the rock wall too close for his liking.
The two wolves, gray and gold, raise their heads from where they are lying on guard, to see who arrives.
The gray wolf raises his ears forward when he sees him, the golden wolf, lowers them, getting up from his place to go to his side, walking cautiously.
That care gets on Link's nerves. He doesn't know that the spirit is thinking and his mind hits with everything bad that could be.
He reaches out to run his hand through his fur and the wolf leans towards him allowing it. That calms him down.
"Where are the twins?" He asks, wrapping his arm over the golden's back as he clings to his side.
The gray wolf stands up and brushes off the dirt, motioning with his head for him to follow him.
Surrounding the fountain, where there are no longer any fairies in sight, Link can hear footsteps in the leaf litter.
Tiar, knowing it's him because of his straighter hair that falls over his shoulders and his more hunched posture, paces back and forth, nibbling on his thumbnail, holding the black rabbit in his other arm.
Link steps on a dry branch to report his presence and the redhead's gaze shoots towards him.
"Link!" The boy's face shines with a smile and he runs towards him, trapping him in a hug with the arm whose thumb he bit a second ago.
Link staggers a little, not expecting this attack, before holding back a loving laugh and putting his arm around the little boy's shoulders.
The rustling of leaves catches his attention, revealing Zail, who rises from the grass, with the pink rabbit in his arms and a fawn, with a recognizable scar on its paw, behind him.
They both exchange glances and the younger one analyzes him, focusing on Link's hair. His gaze seems to see more than just the change in color of his hair, glowing with a slight orange aura.
The scrutiny makes him nervous, but he doesn't let it take away his smile or extend his arm toward him to offer a hug as well.
Zail raises an eyebrow, rolling his eyes and walking towards him and his twin.
Then he purposely crushes them in his arms.
"Zail!" Tiar walks away, freeing himself from his brother's clutches and giving him a push, causing them both to separate from Link.
The rabbits jump out of the arms of both children and hide under the figure of the gray wolf, after being squeezed to death.
The culprit only shows a mocking smile, without any remorse.
"I'm glad to know that you are still the same as always." Link sighs, running his hand through his hair, pulling at the strands to release the jagged nerves caused by Zail.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zail crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow with his mocking smile still the protagonist.
"I leave it to free interpretation." Link closes his eyes, not allowing himself to fall into the younger boy's trap.
A tug on his new cloak draws his attention back to Tiar, who is now looking at him, though still smiling, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Do you know anything about Grandma?" Tiar tilts his head, shifting his weight from foot to foot, eager for an answer.
Link presses his lips together, tensing again.
"I know she left to get the spear finished, but I don't know more." He says cautiously, not knowing how much the twins know and how much Zilih is okay with telling them.
Tiar looks at the ground, balancing on his feet. The pink rabbit runs away from his hiding place and lets the boy grab him.
Link sighs, feeling bad for not being able to calm them down, but he has something else to say. Placing his hand on one of each twin's shoulders he draws their attention again.
"Guys, you have to go, it's not safe here." He says with a soft smile and a worried frown.
That seems to break Tiar's heart and he leans forward, ready to complain. "But grandma- she's not back yet! And the forest-!" He points toward the trees, shrouded in fog further up the hill.
"Zilih will be fine, she has Rune with her and the Forest..." Turning towards the grove, remembering what he saw there, the reason Zelda was taken to the Sheikah. "It stopped being safe a long time ago."
Tiar stands his ground, reluctant to accept it. Zail on the other hand...
"That's true." Link looks at him, exchanging glances under Tiar's surprised expression.
His eyes have that orange aura again and a chill runs down his spine, leaving him confused.
"Yeah..." Link blinks a few times, snapping out of his confusion and gives their shoulders a squeeze. "Please, when Lemoveh or Naboris returns, go to the Plateau."
Tiar nods, not very convinced, and looks at his brother, seeking support.
Zail just nods, placing his hand on Tiar's free shoulder. "Let's go with the others." He whispers to his brother, patting him gently and then looking up at the deer.
Link gives them a disheartened smile, watching them walk away and beginning to plot how to solve this.
The gray wolf immediately follows Tiar, while the golden one sticks to his side.
Before disappearing through the brush towards the camp, Zail turns, letting the black rabbit go and gesturing for it to follow his brother.
"Something happens?" Link walks towards him, locking eyes with him when he turns around again.
"You're going to the mountain, right?" Zail smiles at him, although that strange shine is still in his eyes.
Link tilts his head, considering whether to comment on that aura or respond with a joke and lighten the mood.
But the chill that caused him a few seconds ago worries him too much.
"Hey, has something happened? Your eyes are... They're..." Link points his palm toward his eyes, twisting it when he can't find the words.
Zail looks him up and down, his eyes pointing to his hair, to the obvious change.
Link purses his lips, unsure of the silent evasion.
"Grandma will tell you everything in her time." The boy raises his shoulders and hands, downplaying it. "And if you plan to go to the mountains—and I know you will—maybe your only option is underground."
Zail doesn't spare him another glance, before following his brother again.
Link watches him go, running his hands through the wolf's fur.
"What happens?" He mutters to himself, a feeling of discomfort gripping his muscles.
He turns the conversation over in his head, trying to find the answer between the lines.
He takes the Slate from his hip, swiping and turning around the map.
Then he looks at the wolf, desperate. "Any ideas?" He asks as he runs his hand hard across his forehead, wanting to get rid of the headache.
The wolf looks away, doubtful, gets up and debates whether to grab a branch to write what he wants to say or not.
Link already knows he's not going to like the answer just because of that, but when they look at each other again, as if he's asking if he's sure, he nods. Because he has to do this and he can't waste time, there's only one week left.
He can almost feel the ticking of the clock echoing in his head.
With a huff, he finally gives up, picking up a stick from the ground and drawing in the dirt and writing.
'The Depths' is the result, the answer.
Link looks at his tablet again, looking for a button or section that corresponds with that, because if anyone knew Hyrule down to the deepest corner, it was the Sage.
At the end, by swiping from the left corner, three map options appear.
The one he already had, another one higher up, in which only the old Temple of Time was marked and... The Depths, completely dark, abandoned and deactivated for this very reason.
Link returns to the surface map, moving around it frantically, searching for an entrance or clue.
He ends up giving up when he can't understand half of the things marked on that centuries-old map.
"What I do?" Link ends up turning to the wolf for help, the Hero of Time.
Again, the spirit hesitates, unsure or fearful of what lies ahead for Link.
He approaches, trying to lock eyes with him.
"The Sage told me that we would meet one day." At that comment a gleam of recognition crosses the wolf's red eyes, with memories stored behind them. "I don't know how, but I know it's true. I don't know what you know about what I'm going to experience, but I think you know better than anyone that you should not try to alter destiny, events or play with the paradoxes in the lines." Link keeps his tone calm and thoughtful, trying to make it clear that he does not mean to attack him or hit sensitive spots with malice.
The wolf lowers its ears and turns its head to the side, thinking. When he looks back at him, Link can feel the pain in that look as his own.
"Help me." For the first time, Link drops that insecurity about receiving help, about being less and simply... "Please."
The golden wolf snorts, imitating what a human would sigh, and carefully presses the top of his head to Link's forehead. He then retreats and gestures with his head for him to follow him.
Climbing up the hill again, he follows the spirit to Epona. The mare stands up when she sees them and strokes her muzzle against the wolf's fur and then trots happily towards Link.
In the exchange, the gray wolf appears from the shadows and focuses his attention, worried about his counterpart.
"You go?" Behind him, Impa, stealthy as always, is crossing her arms.
Link feels the urge to apologize, or explain himself, but he knows it won't mean anything because he was going to leave anyway.
So he just sighs, with a resigned posture and a sad smile.
"I can go?" Impa asks, just to make sure.
"Please no." Link takes a step towards her, speaking with pleading in his voice. He doesn't know what's down there, just that it's bad enough for the Hero of Time's spirit to worry or be afraid.
Impa sighs, bringing her hand to her forehead, applying some force to ease the pressure.
Link rocks on his feet, hesitating whether or not to ask what he has in mind.
"Could you take care of the twins while I'm gone?" Impa glances down at her hand, before bringing it over her shoulder to massage the tense area.
"You're worried about those kids, right?" A smile tugs at Impa's lips, touched by Link's concern.
"Someone has to do it, while Zilih is gone." Link smiles back, finishing placing the saddle on the mare's back.
"I have the impression that this won't end when Zilih returns, you are soft-hearted." Impa allows herself a dry laugh, despite the worry shining in her ruby eyes. "Be careful, worry about yourself a little more."
Link gives her a sad smile, extending his arms for a hug.
The Sheikah does not object, walking in front and surrounding the other's back with her arm, giving him a few encouraging pats.
It's hard for both of them to separate when they don't know what there will be in store for the other.
Link walks away from her and climbs onto Epona, who begins to move on her hooves impatiently, tired of so much feeling and not receiving any attention.
That manages to get a laugh out of Link, even if he himself now feels rather depressed and exhausted.
"Think fast."
Impa's words trigger Link's alerts, and he looks towards her with the speed that a pressure spring rebounds.
He manages to catch something in the air and when he looks between his hands he sees a couple of rice balls with meat. He frowns as he looks at the food in his hands and then directs his attention to Impa, who smiles widely.
"You haven't had breakfast, you'll be hungry any minute."
That strikes a chord in Link, making him crack a smile that tries to imitate the tenderness in his eyes. "Thank you."
With another smile, Link gently reins in, telling Epona to start the journey and ready to follow the golden wolf, who only silently observes the scene.
Time passes as they move away from Rauru Hillside and the camp and begin their detour to the Great Forest, heading towards the Thyphlo ruins.
There is no attempt to exchange words, or at least non-verbal expressions. Just silence, filled by the sound of Epona's hooves.
When they reach their goal, Link almost suffers a heart attack.
At first there is just a lot of Malice covering the ground like spider webs, with a watchful yellow eye and a ghoulish mouth that spits out skulls.
Link jumps off Epona, unsheathing his sword from his waist. The wolf lunges forward, leaping onto Malice's web and biting into the yellow eye, before leaping away from the danger zone.
Slashing, he gets rid of the floating skulls, which turn into smoke at the same time as the net and the eye.
Behind them they only leave a gap, oozing the essence of evil, and sinking into darkness.
Link swallows to undo the lump that forms in his throat when vertigo comes over him as he looks into the hole.
He gives the wolf a look and a smile, although visibly nervous.
"Take Epona out of here, okay? And come find me when you can." Taking a calming breath and removing the paraglider from the Slate, Link closes his eyes and jumps into the hole.
Vertigo grips his stomach, while his heart beats a thousand miles an hour with instinctive panic at being surrounded by deep darkness.
His muscles tense, alert for the moment when he has to use the paraglider.
He opens and closes the parasail from time to time, making sure not to let there be too much height between stops and not to gain too much speed in his fall.
Link doesn't know how much time he spends falling, but it seems like forever. When he finally sees blue lights in the background, he can sigh in relief.
Some dust kicks up under his feet as he lands with the paravail. The atmosphere is stuffy, humid, full of dust and there is an acidic smell in the air.
Link's eyes wander to the lights around him, fascinated by them and the landscape they create in the darkness, as if he were walking close to stars in the sky.
Maybe it's not the best idea in the world, but he decides to try touching the blue lights. After all, it has become clear to him that death is not the worst thing that can happen to him.
His hand passes through the glow, leaving a cold feeling in his hand. That surprises him. The icy cold had clung to his bones since the Temple of the Four Heroes and neither cold nor heat had been able to register in his brain again.
He spends several minutes fascinated by these lights, by the fact that he once again feels a change in temperature in his hands and fingers.
He has lost the conception of time, due to his new obsession and the infinite darkness that surrounds him, when a gust of air hits him head on and he trembles when, again, he can feel a change in temperature.
He could almost cry, when the cold in his bones is relieved by the warmth around him.
A new light shines above his head, and when he looks in its direction, he almost catches his breath.
Above him, a dragon, the spirit that represents the concept of power, a Triforce and a goddess, flies without concern illuminating the abyss.
Link looks at him fascinated, excited to be able to leave the cold of death that accompanied him, and begins to follow him.
His path is abruptly stopped by a large chasm that begins at the edge of rocks where he stops before falling.
He can only watch as the dragon leaves without giving him any further attention, taking with him that brief warmth that he will not be able to recover.
The darkness consumes everything again, even more, with no blue light in sight.
Without the wind from outside, without vision and without guidance, fear soon fills him again.
He is afraid of what could be hidden in the darkness, what could kill him.
He laughs bitterly, letting the sound echo off the void.
Fear of death. He doesn't even have a word to convey how ridiculous that is at this point.
Ignoring that primal feeling that's fighting for space in his head, he grabs his Slate and turns it on.
The brightness blinds him for a second before he gets used to it and starts searching.
He remembers seeing a plant, both in Nesa's notes and in his own inventory, that glowed when planted.
Searching, he ends up finding a bunch. Seriously, too many, what was Sage's problem?
The name is quite revealing, Brightbloom seeds.
He grabs one in his hand. The object materialization gives him a second of light, allowing him to see the depth of the abyss in front of him.
With a pit in his stomach from shock, he throws out the seed, gaining some vision.
He repeats the process until the area around him is sufficiently illuminated and he eventually locates a path to the left.
With no other way, he restarts the journey, praying in his mind that the golden wolf will arrive soon.
Walking the first section he can see a shiny structure in the distance.
With the Slate he marks a sign on it and looks at his position on the map.
Noticing that he is close to the volcano he decides to continue there, since he doesn't have many other options either.
The entire way, in which he has no perception of time due to the lack of light, he is completely alert, jumping and turning at the slightest noise, waiting for anything to jump from the dark abyss that surrounds him.
When he thinks a lot of time passes, he checks the time on his Slate.
He begins to believe that the wolf is not going to go look for him, he can't, or that he should have stayed still and waited for him instead of going on his own after two hours of walking in the abyss.
The hair on his arms begins to stand on end and he begins to spin around on his own two feet, looking in all directions, unsheathing his sword and holding the hilt with both hands.
The air becomes heavy, oppressive. Black smoke rises around him and he can see Malice forming beneath his feet.
Link growls in frustration, tired of encountering monsters he can't fight.
With a quick scan of the surroundings, he shoots off in the direction of the wall he had thrown a glow seed at earlier.
He feels something brush against his hair as he walks away from the area and a high-pitched scream echoes in his ears.
Without looking back, he jumps over the wall and climbs upwards with several impulses. Only when he is several meters up does he look back, to see Malice's creature clawing at the wall, trying to reach him.
Five or six hands are tangled against the wall, from a puddle of the almost black matter with red reflections that forms them.
With one hand he clings tightly to the wall and with the other he looks for his slate at his waist.
Link begins flipping through the inventory sections as best he can with his free hand, trying to find the bomb flowers.
He had never tried them, but it is never too late to start.
He begins to click on the section without stopping, letting the flowers fall without pause on his hands.
Each explosion is followed by a scream from the monster and little by little the hands begin to fall apart.
Soon the last hand fades away and Link begins to descend, sliding down the wall.
A chill hits him, almost causing him to fall.
When he comes to, he propels himself up again, not knowing what he is running from.
A scream echoes in his ears and when he turns around the image of a mummy corroded by Malice, which creates a puddle around him.
"Are you f*cking kidding me." If he had his hands free, he would be pulling his hair out.
Quickly, Link throws a flower bomb again, but stops when the form slashes it with a sword and comes out without a scratch.
"It had to have a brain." Link mumbles as he looks for another way out of this.
Reviewing the inventory, his eyes focus on the glowing fruits. His muscles tense as he remembers the Temple of the Four, but he also gives him an idea.
He grabs a luminous seed and throws it in the direction he was going before all this.
A dry, deformed forest stretches in darkness into another void.
Grabbing a Dazzlefruit, he forcefully throws it down as he lets himself slide down the wall.
When he is within range of the sword that the monster raises above his head, the fruit explodes on him.
Link is far enough away that it doesn't blind him as well, and he runs off into the forest, hoping to lose it in the trees.
Unfortunately for him, the monster comes to his senses very quickly and is also faster than him.
When he reaches the beginning of the twisted forest, the shape is already above him, sword raised.
Link manages to evade the first blow, stop the second with the shield that ends up breaking in half where a corrosion crack spreads and the third cuts him in the arm.
The Malice soon takes root in his skin and muscles, killing them and making him feel as if the cut area was melting like acid.
Link sucks in a breath between his teeth in response to the pain, clenching his jaw to keep the cry of pain in his throat so he can focus on the danger in front of him.
His hand flies to his Slate again, as he tries to think how to get out of this.
Another shine, more golden than that of the fruits, blinds both the monster and him.
His ears pick up the sound of bones breaking into pieces.
When the light dims, he sees the golden wolf, with the hair on its back standing on end. His mind manages to register the wolf's ferocious growl amidst his confusion and panic.
The wolf rushes forward, jumping over the cursed sword that ends up slashing into the void, and sinking its fangs into the being's neck.
Link watches in shock as the golden wolf, whose back turns slightly white, tears the monster apart with its jaws until it dissolves into dust and smoke.
When he finishes, he turns to Link, showing how those marks that were drawn on the fur of his head are now blue and red.
He lets out the little air that has been trapped in his lungs in a shaky breath and brings his hands to his forearms, with the instinct to seek comfort from the scene he has just witnessed.
His hand hits the cut and a pained moan escapes him.
Link turns his arm to see the wound, as Malice slowly spreads.
The wolf approaches, as the marks fade and he calms down again, then he presses his forehead to the wound, glowing brightly.
Malice disappears.
But when the wolf moves away again, it appears from the environment and takes root again and Link has to bite his tongue not to complain again.
He shoots the wolf a look, confused, not understanding why it hasn't worked and how he has an expression that's meant to be a deep frown.
Link sighs and takes the necklace off of him, using one of the pieces of shirt to keep it tied and attached to the wound.
Malice leaves, but Link knows that it is just waiting.
"Let's go, we'll find a solution." Link runs his hand between the golden wolf's ears, trying to calm him down.
The other doesn't seem happy, but agrees with a huff and they head into the forest.
