Chapter Text
Link breathes in and breathes out. It isn’t that his skills have become rusty. It is more that he have forgotten just how fragile a mortal body is. Even though this form is a lie and he can still survive, the idea that even an angry bee sting is enough to end him is getting to him. Still, he made it through and opens his eyes just in time to see the lights that comes from the Obliterator scatters to the familiar four corners of Hyrule.
Sending his visions through the eyes of his four copies, who all immediately notice the approaching light, he witness as three obelisks of Sheikah made appears where the lights land. He then feels the pocket dimension he was sent to for this new trial fades away, returning him to the real Great Plateau. He looks to see that the new shrines remain behind.
Suddenly, the land quakes and his eyes zeroes in on the happening of Hyrule Castle. Five pillars appear all around the castle and his sharp gaze catch sight of Sheikah technologies being used against them. He feels a spike of Zelda’s horror in his heart. He sends her a calming hum, warming her limbs.
“Your father is not there,”
He feels the flutter of butterfly wings that kisses him with her thanks.
In the meantime, the rogue Sheikah Guardians begin to take over Central Hyrule. Fortunately, Rhoam accepted his advice to evacuate the area. Not to mention, the spikes that the Sheikah Scientists have been working on since the possibility of their own technology being turned against them comes up, begins to reveal their purpose. Pillars of blue light shoots up to the sky, effectively creating a quarantine barrier around the area to hold back the wave of corruption back. Caging their enemy in the very castle that it have taken over.
Giving them time to fully gather their strength.
Link will not put his hopes on those spikes for long, though. The Yiga will certainly interfere. They only need to find the right moment. A shroud of darkness in the form of a boar begins to circle around the castle. Link lock eyes with the beast, ignoring it’s roar of defiance towards their attempt to contain him. However, his days roaming the castle during winter isn’t for nothing.
Link had taken the time to place his own protection around the castle in the form for forgotten runes.
Green chains appear and leashes the beast before it can truly rampage. It is something he recalls from all his adventures. The lost magic of ancient Hyrule forcing the beast back into the castle, trapping it there. But unlike the power of Hylia, there is only so much he can do in terms of sealing. It might take longer with his might as a deity behind the magic, but it can still be broken as his enemy isn’t a simple mortal man.
There is a reason why he is best used for destroying things and weakening Her enemies for Her lights to seal away to a prison beyond time.
In this age, due to his influence on her, his Zelda is stronger than even her first incarnation. Still, this beast is nothing but a ghost, a shade of their true enemy. He will not let her and the Champions fall for this paltry trick. If they face the beast now, they will be in a state that can easily be taken over by the one the beast comes from. Because of this, Link decides to play the waiting game.
He will prepare Zelda for the coming fight.
He finally crosses the gate that leads up to Mount Hylia. Though he yearns to sleep there at the peak where he can feel Her closest, he decides that such a thing can wait. After all, Hylia entrusted him with a duty. One that he willingly accepts with a heart full gladness and love. He will not fail Her.
“Link!”
He braces as Zelda throws her whole weight against him. He breathes in her clean scent and takes notice that she have changed out of her prayer gown into her travel wear. He smiles as she squeezes him with all her might. Though her mortal strength feels frail around him, he can feel the strength of her soul enveloping him like wings. He lets her hug him to her satisfaction.
She finally pulls back to ask, “Are you alright? I saw those four lights,”
Link nods, “We will have to visit the four regions and face the trials there,”
Zelda stares at him and he feels her mind rolling their marbles inside her pretty head. It is adorable to see. In the end, she sighs and pulls away, “Link…I will remain here,”
He nods, “Understood,”
Zelda looks down in guilt, “It isn’t that I want to stay where it is somewhat safe. It is because…that beast in the castle. We don’t know how long the barrier that the Sheikah placed will last. My power can protect the people here. If push comes to shove,” She looks at him with determination in her golden gaze, “I will hold the beast back for you! I will wait for you here, Link,” She cups his jaw, “Promise you’ll come for me?”
Link closes his eyes, understanding her plan. He holds the same concern. He understands her role in this fight. Though she can fight her own battle now, they are partners for a reason. When he opens his eyes, the Fierce Deity looks back, “I will always return to your side, Little Light. No matter the distance, no matter the era. We are one. Undivided. The fate that binds us is a precious bond that stretches beyond time, space, and status. Not even death can stop me from coming back for you,”
Zelda’s eyes waters from the depth of his devotion to her. To every her that ever came before and to every her that will come after. Such a deep love, one that weighs on the heart of her soul. No matter the trials, no matter the burden, he chooses her. Over and over. In life and in death. It is both Her greatest admiration and Her greatest regret.
He pinches her chin and tilts her head, “No regret, my love. For I have none in me,” Zelda reaches for him and he pulls her back against him. He tells her, “I will do my best to return as quickly as I am able. Have faith in me,” Her tightening hold is answer enough.
“I will always wait for you,”
A thousand lifetimes echoes in her words. They have always waited for his return. They have always believed that he will return. Be it alive or dead. Even the one that married in a different land trekked his path back to her side upon his death albeit as a ghost. That ghost of him stayed beside her, unseen and unheard, until she too breathed her last. The curse will then separate them as she returns to Hylia while he remain bound the land. Such is the insidious nature of Demise’s cure. But it doesn’t matter. He will always return to her.
It is always his choice to return.
Always.
Link pulls away and looks at Rhoam who stands near. Though he is dressed in his usual regalia, Link’s eyes can tell that he is better protected. A slight shift in his weight and Link catches the sound of a chainmail underneath. He steps closer to Rhoam and touches the King’s arm.
“I give you my blessing as a warrior,”
Rhoam snaps his gaze to Link and feels a strength unlike any, not even in his prime, seeps into his blood and bones. Strengthening him. He also feels that something else have been added to his clothes.
“I am not one to give protection. That is Hylia’s domain. Pray to Her for your salvation. But pray to Me for victory. Know that when your enemy showers you with their blood, then you are being baptized by Me. When you swing your weapons, offer your dance of death to Me. For every life you take, sacrifice them in My name. For I am the Fierce Deity and violence is My domain,”
Rhoam feels his soul shakes in the presence of the Fierce Deity; an ancient God that serves Hylia out of devotion and love. His blood boils with the repressed desire to rampage, to break, to destroy, and to end the life of another. It is almost like a madness that howls for the carnage of war. It feels that the moment he kill his enemy, he will reach a state of euphoria.
“Pray to Hylia for reason. Pray to Hylia for the strength to uphold your moral,”
Rhoam breathes out the violence within and breathes in the calm before the storm. He then nods as Link pulls away, awe and horror hammering his chest like a war drum.
To think that love can bring such a Fierce Deity to heel before Hylia…
No.
He chooses to be calm for Her.
He changes Himself to be with Her and unlike with mortals, He remains Himself in many ways but at the same time He did it so that She will be able to be with Him too. Successfully finding a place by Her side without diminishing Himself.
Not that Rhoam can claim that he understands the way of the divines. After all, what mortal could claim to understand their gods and goddesses. The way the divine perceive the world is something that no mortals can understand. Those who claims otherwise are simply delusional.
After that, Link leaves with a flap of his ‘wings’.
Rhoam looks to see Zelda watching her husband leaves before looking at him, the face of his mother on hers. Should he survive this, he cannot wait to see how she rule Hyrule as it’s Goddess Queen.
Link first make his way to Zora’s Domain. He sends his thoughts to Azur, who is already studying the three Sheikah obelisk to understand its purpose. By midday, he finds him with Mipha studying the obelisks on the top of Ja’Abu Ridge. Azur’s memory tells him that this particular indigo Zora is a scholar and historian of the Zora. His name is Jiahto and just like every other Zora, is smitten with Mipha.
Mipha looks up when he lands and waves, “Over here! I believe that you are here for these obelisks. There appears to be pictures on it much like the one in the Sheikah Slate. Oh, I do wonder the marvel behind such-,”
Azur cuts her off, “Yadda, yadda. Blah, blah. Find the shrines in these locations. I suggest starting from this one. This one is closest. Somewhere along Upland Zorana?”
Jiahto looks like he wants to flay Azur alive but Mipha keeps a serene political smile on her face. Though Link can sense that she do feel a sting of anger from the rude interruption. Jiahto notice that she does not want to start an argument so quells his temper and argues, “No! There is an order to follow! You cannot just choose whichever shrines you want to start with! See here? There is an instruction on how to begin this!”
He points at the obelisk;
[One, find what the light's path shows; Two, conquer the ancient foes; Three, chase rings of the waterfall; Champion, the trials call!]
Mipha nods, “That is correct. Perhaps this is to see if the one taking this trial can also follow order,”
Jiahto beams at his princess’s agreement, looking at Azur like he had won something. Though it irks the Zora when Azur simply rolls his eyes, shrugging, “Fine~! Start with the furthest one then. I think this one is…”
Link nods, “Lanayru Sea,” He looks at Mipha, “This trial is also for you, I suspect. I have no real need for whatever gift it may bring to me. It is better if you claim it for yourself,”
Mipha blinks, “Is that so?”
Azur sighs, “That make sense. Anything to make yourself stronger, Salmon,”
Jiahto is positively baring his shark teeth now at the implied insult. Mipha sighs, “I told I look more like a dolphin than a salmon!”
Azur eyed her up and down, “Nah. Never seen a red dolphin before. But I have eaten red salmons so…”
Mipha’s head fin starts flapping angrily at him.
Before they can argue further, Link steps in, “We need to hurry. There is a war on our doorstep and the literal fate of not just Hyrule but the world. Hurry it up,” He then starts moving before they can start again. Zelda might celebrate the fact that any aspect of his seems to have started a tentative friendship with anyone besides her but not Link himself.
He snaps the pictures on the obelisks with the Sheikah Slate before setting out with the others…
Although Mipha is a great swimmer, she will have to walk to their first location. Remarkably, Jiahto decides to come with. It seems he distrust Azur’s ability to keep his princess safe. Although in their group, he is probably the weakest as he is not a warrior like them. Still, Mipha allows him and when they rest for the evening, she teaches him some tips for his spearmanship. Azur’s reverse psychology on the male Zora somehow helping him with training himself.
They come across a few monsters on the way to Ulria Grotto. Fortunately, there is a small settlement of a mining village there. The people there are used to seeing Zoras passing through. But they have never seen Link. During his journey with Zelda, he keeps away from villages to toughen her sensibility against the wilderness. Though Zelda have some immunity to the discomfort of nature due to her pilgrimages to the Springs, she will often find a village to rest in with the help of her Sheikah or Knight.
But with Link, he forces her to rough it out completely and utterly. Not even talk of her monthlies can deter him as he, embarrassingly for her, teaches her how to deal with her bleeding using the things on her and around them. After all, commoners experience such discomforts on the daily.
After setting up camp as close to the edge as possible without the danger of rolling off, Mipha asks him, “And now what? How do we find this…‘light’s path’?”
Azur answers, “It is too late. The sun is already down. We will have to wait for first light,”
On their way to the location, much slower that Link preferred due to Mipha and Jiahto being slower on land than they would in the water, Jiahto had studied the ‘song’ as much as he can dissect it. In the end, considering the location, he suspects that the ‘light’s path’ must be the sun but only at a certain hour. Perhaps sunrise or sunset.
There is a use for him in the end.
All that is left is to wait for the sun to show the exact location to begin their trial…
Mipha takes the time to practice her hydromancy. Though she have no talent in reading the ripples to learn the future, she wants to perfect her control. Deep inside, she is restless. Even from Zora’s Domain, she can see the dark shroud covering Hyrule Castle. Their Hylian neighbors are just as restless and many have asked for sanctuary within the Domain. After all, the wetland is close to Central Hyrule and is rather open to whatever that might escape the barrier set up by the Sheikah. At the very least, the Domain’s topography can filter out as much of their mechanical enemies as possible, creating an advantageous bottleneck.
Having a Divine Beast close by is also a plus.
She wonders about Zelda and looks to study Link.
It have long been clear to her that this ‘man’ is not any ordinary man. Especially after he changed his appearance to something that he feels more comfortable in. He gives the sense of someone who finally changed into a cleaner clothes after a long day in a soiled clothing. But other than that, he remains the same.
Mipha have been receiving letters from nobles and wealthy merchants to help hasten the healing process of their women’s cosmetic surgeries. Naturally, her father refused letting her go. After all, she is not some simple medic but a Princess. She can never understand those people, especially when they are already born lacking nothing. She suppose that people who couldn’t love themselves will always find fault no matter what their throw or add to their appearance.
Still…
“Master Link, why cause you to change your appearance? I mean…you are already pleasant looking before,”
His giant ear turns in her direction for a moment before he becomes still once more. Just as she thought he won’t answer her, not without Zelda mediating between them, Azur answers her question, “It isn’t about look. It is about comfort. Unlike mortals who changes things given to them, We are not constrained to one look. We change however We wishes. It is Our right as a Wild God of Hyrule,”
Mipha leans her head on her knees, “What is the difference between mortals and…well, a Wild God?”
Azur huffs, “Mortals only change themselves because they cannot accept things given to them,”
Mipha thought about it, “What about cripples?”
Azur looks at her, “Hylia gives you wisdom to fix yourself so that you can live better. If surgeries can save your livelihood, then it is fine. But mortals tended to abuse this as permission to change what is already ‘perfect’ for them. Tell me, how many love themselves after such intrusive changes? None, I will bet. They then become addicted to change their appearance more and more, always chasing that elusive ‘ideal’ look,” He snorts, “Does this addictive action of changing things tells a picture of self love?”
Mipha looks out to the ocean before shaking her head, “No. You only change things when you hate it,”
Azur nods, “And We despise Hylians,” He stands up as the sun begins to rise, “But We love Hylia whose appearance the Hylians adopted. Because of this, We compromise. Unlike mortals, We are able to change Our appearance from the beginning but seldom did We ever change how We look. After all…this is the face We chose to present to Hylia and this face is the one that She recognize the most. It is love for Her that We keep our Hylian features. But it is also an act of accepting what We really are that We adopt this appearance,” He looks at her, “Far from hypocrisy, We are simply not mortal. To compare Us with those foolish mortals is like trying to compare a pebble to the sun,”
A foolish action.
Mipha shakes Jiahto awake. Since there is little he can do to keep awake, being a scholar, he easily succumbs to sleep. She then turns to watch the sun slowly rising. Once it rises and cast it’s reflection upon ocean surface, something forms there. Azur stands close to her, “I think you need to swim to that blue portal before the sun rises too high. Better make haste, Salmon,”
Mipha huffs before nodding. Looking over the cliff, she nods and uses her hydromancy to create a sort of ‘river’ to give her better leverage so that she will not plummet onto the rocky shores below. She manipulates the water so that she can sort of ‘swim’ mid-air before diving down. Once the water envelopes her, her nature easily takes up as she cuts through the salty liquid straight for the blue portal.
Above her, Link flies.
Though it isn’t a race, she decides to treat it as such.
It takes a while but thanks to Azur’s training, her stamina is much higher than before and she does not tire as easily. She reaches the portal just in time as it begins to flicker, signaling the end of the time slot nearing. With a burst of energy, she dashes forward and through. Link swoops through at the same time she passes.
The blue portal swirls and collapses into her and him before the waves turn choppy and an island rises from beneath the water. Mipha swims to it’s shore and waits patiently as Link activates the shrine. Then, it is a long way down and she tries not to fidget too much with his proximity.
She never mention this to Zelda but Link evokes a primal part of her that makes her feel like running or lashing out. It is something that Zora children relied on to survive in the wild and learned to suppress as they grow so that they will not be accused as feral. But it can certainly help the adult recognize a threat versus a trustworthy person. However…
“You need not fear me,”
She looks at him, “Yes?”
Link finally addresses her directly, “You need not fear me. As long as you mean Zelda and Hylia no harm, there is no reason for you to fear me,”
Mipha hums, “I understand. However…”
Link says, “There is an age where the Zora is nothing more than just another river monster. However, for whatever reason, it only affects those dwelling in freshwater. This odd era soon disappear, appearing only here and there within the Zora community. However, your society is not an enemy of mine. So fear me not,”
Mipha have heard of such cases but only thought of it as a sort of fairytale to warn little Zora to behave less they be stolen by the river and turns into monsters but Link says it like a matter of fact. How…uncanny…
