Chapter 1
The Hero of Time stood before the king of darkness. The Legendary Master Sword in their left hand, the divine Mirror shield in their right, their fairy companion by their side. Though much of their own past was a mystery to them, The Hero had spent their whole life preparing for this moment. They had gathered the three Spiritual Stones, opened the Door of Time, pulled the Master Sword, traveled seven years into the future, rescued the sages and made it through the vigorous gauntlet that was Ganondorf's Castle.
And how, They came face to face with the demon lord himself, the man who had made The Hero's life a living hell from the moment they opened their eyes and plunged Hyrule into darkness for seven long years, Ganondorf. Behind the vile tyrant waited The Hero's childhood friend and the one who had helped them throughout their journey, Princess Zelda. The Princess had been captured by Ganondorf and placed in a magic crystal above his throne.
With the three in the same room, the mark of the Triforce began to glow on each of their left hands. Zelda with the Triforce of Wisdom, Ganondorf with the Triforce of Power, and the hero with the Triforce of Courage.
"These toys are far too much for you" Ganondorf said, flaunting his Triforce of Power.
Ganondorf then released a wave of arcane energy that caused The Hero's fairy to vanish. Their guide, their friend, gone. Now, it was just the two of them. Ganondorf slammed his fist on the ground below him, creating a crevasse between him and The Hero. He then proceeded to levitate in the air whilst continuing to mock The Hero.
Before The Hero could react, Ganondorf hurled a ball of pure arcanum at them. The Hero tried blocking the blast with the Mirror Shield, but it was no use, for the magic had melted the reflective surface, rendering the ancient artifact useless. Ganondorf threw another blast. This time, The Hero swung at it in an attempt to bounce it back at the tyrant. But it was no use. They tried pushing it back with all of the might granted to them by the strength enhancing Golden Gauntlets, however, Ganondorf's magic was far stronger than them. The Hero only manage to dispel the beam. Once again, the demon king fired another charge. Still recovering from the Golden Gauntlets giving out, The Hero only had a split second to react. They weakly raised The Master Sword, unable to gather the strength to keep a steady grip. The legendary blade fell to the depths below. And as it fell, so too did the fate of Hyrule. Ganondorf floated closer and closer to The Hero, laughing the whole way. He raised his palm just inches from the Hero's face. The Hero felt the arcane energy charging into Ganondorf's hand. A sudden realization came to the Hero as they took their final breaths. Everything they'd done up until now….it was all for nothing. They were going to die, and so too would the kingdom of Hyrule.
Link jolted awake in their bed, panting and covered in sweat. It was the same dream they'd been having since their parents had died. They tried to rationalize it several times before but the answers as to what it meant escaped them. The strangest thing was that it never felt like a dream. It felt like a memory.
The sounds of the thunderstorm brewing outside distracted Link, making it easier for them to calm down. Upon gathering their thoughts, they looked to their right to see that their uncle was getting ready to go outside. The storm was getting worse by the second, so it seems strange that Link's uncle would be going out in such terrible weather.
"Trouble sleeping again?" asked Link's uncle.
The adolescent Hylian replied in their hazy, sleep deprived voice.
"Mmmhmm…..are you going somewhere"
"There's some business that needs to be taken care of at the Castle"
Lightning cracked from outside the small bungalow.
"Are you sure you want to go out alone, it's dangerous?"
Link's uncle turned over to them, giving them a gentle smile as he lit a lantern and placed it next to Link's bed.
"Always the worrier, Link. I'll be fine, the storm should be letting up soon"
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?"
"This is something I have to do on my own. I'll be back before morning. Sleep tight. I love you"
Link's uncle left through the front door of the house, grabbing his sword as he exited. Link thought this was strange as he'd never seen their uncle use the sword and always warned Link not to touch it. Something else peculiar was that the family shield that hung over Link's bed seemed to be gone too.
I hope he's ok Link thought as they laid back in bed.
Link shut their eyes. Normally, it would take Link quite a while to fall asleep. But this time was different. They drifted off quickly, but not entirely to sleep. They were in that place between wakefulness and unconsciousness where the rules of reality start to bend and your sense of reasoning begins to slip away. Between asleep and awake. Between light and dark.
"...Link"
Groggy and still in the inbetween, Link replied to the female voice that seemed to be calling to them.
"Wh-what? Hello?"
"Link, I need your help. Aganihm has taken control of the castle! Please hurry!"
The voice seemed familiar to Link. Not the sound of it, more of the tone and manner in which she spoke.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"My name is Zelda"