Prologue
A young boy stared up at the blue skies and smiled. Everything was clear, nothing unusual about the heavens, no angry moon coming to destroy it all. He pulled off his hat and pushed his blond hair back. He leaned back and his hand brushed what felt like human skin. He looked to see the instrument of Majora's defeat, the mask of the Fierce Deity.
He stared at it with his deep blue eyes. Even without wearing it just having it near him made him feel more powerful. He had saved two worlds and not Majora, not Ganon, nothing had ever seemed this powerful to Link. And to think he could wield it just by wearing it. The though was alluring to Link. As he stared into the deep sockets of the eye's of the mask, he felt as if it was staring back at him.
He shook off the thought, it was just an enchanted mask, nothing sentient could live within it. He shook his head, laughing at his own foolishness, and pulled a blue ocarina, another instrument which aided him in his battle. The gentle tune he played swept over the land. A horse neighed in the distance. The auburn and white horse strode toward him swiftly. As she stopped near him she gently plodded her feet and put her head down near Link. Link stroked Epona's nose gently and swung himself up onto her back. He looked back at Clock Town. That's not my home, I want to be home again, I want to be in Hyrule, I want to see Zelda. He turned to face the forest. He had lost his way in a forest before, maybe he could find his way back as well. Link said goodbye to this place, though he had been there for close to a month, only three days had passed, he knew no one would miss him. He tapped Epona gingerly with his heels and together they trotted off into woodland.
Link traveled for many days and nights, eventually leaving the forest. He traveled through village after village asking how to get back to Hyrule, but no one had heard of such a place. He had stopped in a village built around an archway, it was rumored to be a gate of some sort, to what Link did not know. The canyon was what really interested him, it seemed to have no end. What had possessed these people to build next to this abyss?
Outside of an inn run by a kind old woman he sat drinking a small bit of milk. None of the milk he had had since leaving Clock town was nearly as good as the milk from Lon Lon ranch in Hyrule, but he didn't expect it to be. He learned to live with it. As he brought the bottle up to his lips he noticed a man sit down on the bench next to him, wearing a long cloak, his face shrouded by his hood. Link kept his hand near his gilded sword, just in case. The man sat there, not facing Link, but he swore he felt his eyes upon him from under the hood. Link tried not to focus on it and began to drink his milk once more.
"Are you the one who has been asking about Hyrule?" Link choked, spitting some of his milk onto the dirt road.
"Y-yeah, what of it?" He replied, trying to gain his breath back.
"Why?" The man's voice was like ice, cold and sharp and penetrated Link, chilling him to the bone.
"Why do you want to know?"
"You want to go back," Link stared at him, what was this guy getting at?
"Yeah…what do you know about it? Can you get me back home?" The man sat silently beside Link. Link wondered what he was thinking. The man turned his head slightly. His hand shot out of his cloak grabbing Link by the arm and held it up to his face. Unable to free his left arm, Link grabbed his sword in his right hand and swung it with the scabbard still on it. The blow landed upon the cloaked man's head, he didn't flinch. A light radiated from the back of his left hand, and the cloaked man released it, pulling his arm back into his cloak. Link backed away from him and pulled his sword from its sheath pointing it dangerously at the man.
"Put it away, I'm not here to fight. I offer aid. At midnight tonight go to the gate, let the light of Faroe shine and you will return to your home. The three golden goddesses will grant you safe passage, their power was placed in Hyrule for a reason." He rose and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Link called after him. The cloaked man turned slightly. "What is your name?" He sighed and shook his head.
"My name lost meaning long ago, but if you must call me anything, call me Servus. May we meet again." He turned as to walk away and simply vanished. Link stared for a moment, unsure of what happened. He sighed and sheathed his sword. He looked off toward the horizon to see the sun setting in the distance. He walked into the inn, up the stairs, and into his room. He laid his sword next to his shield on the bed and sat down on the bed. He reached into the pouch on his belt, pulled out the ocarina, and began to play. With each note he played his troubles seemed to wash away and a feeling of calmness flowed over his entire body. He played until darkness fell over the landscape and lay back on his bed. He stared at the ceiling and wondered if what Servus said to him was true. He decided that, this being his only lead, he would have no choice but to trust him. He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep.
The dream he had was terrifying. He was once again under the guise of the Fierce Deity, but he was fighting no monsters this time, this time he did not even fight. A fight is against to people who can defend themselves, no, this was slaughter. Defenseless people only trying to escape, but they could not, those who ran were destroyed. The old woman at the inn was picked up on the end of his blade before being thrown through the stone wall of the inn. He burst through the hole decapitating a guard that was watching the spectacle. He cut his way into a home across from the inn, a man stood ready with a sword inside. Link smiled as the man charged at him. He stuck his blade into the ground and grabbed the mans blade. He shoved his hand deep into the man's chest, as he pulled out, the man's heart was still beating before he crushed in his hand, blood sprayed all over the interior of the house, coating everything with a crimson sheen. As the man fell to the floor, Link saw a wife and child, his insane, toothy grin stretched even farther across his gaunt face. He grabbed his sword and strode forward. He continued until the village was nothing more than a grave yard. And the most terrifying part about the dream to Link, the power felt good.
He awoke, it was still dark. He was in a cold sweat. He went to wipe the sweat from his brow, as he touched his forehead he became aware of a strange liquid covering his left hand. He looked, and the sight hit him in the pit of his stomach. He leaned forward and vomited. Blood, his hand was covered in blood. A smell hit his nose, a nauseating, sickening smell. He looked up, to see a flaming pile. Bodies, he realized, it's a pile of bodies. He was no longer in his hotel room. He was in front of the gate, between the pillars a shimmering film. Through it he could see the faint but recognizable landscape of Hyrule. He was shaking, he had no idea what to think, he fell to his knees and vomited again. Panting, he looked over to his side. The mask lay there, but its usually emotionless face had changed. On its blood spattered face there was a visible smirk. Link realized what had occurred. He called for Epona, and she arrived he jumped onto her back, the mask gripped tightly in his hands. They came to the abyssal gorge next to the village. Link pulled his arm back as far as he could and cast the mask into the depths. He knew. He knew that the mask had done it. But he also knew his body was its vessel. It was at that moment he vowed to repent for the sins of that night. Epona turned around and he spurred her toward the village, and the gate to send him home. He crossed the threshold, the film rippling as he passed through, into his own world.
The bodies still burned in the village into the morning until nothing more than charred skeletal remains were left. The village was desolate, dark, dead. There was no movement. But from the darkness emerged a cloaked figure. He looked around, and from under his hood he smirked. He vanished once again, this time appearing beside the gorge, staring down into the depths he strode toward the edge.
"The time has come my master, we shall return to the sacred realm where those cursed golden wenches cast you aside. You shall awake once more and take your revenge on them and all who worship them, the time is now." And with that he stepped over the edge, falling into the abyss.
Morning came, the gate still shimmered lightly and the smell of burning corpses still lingered in the air. A soft wind blew through the village and the cloaked man appeared before the still open gate. He passed through it, the shimmering film disappeared and the gate collapsed. As soon as he passed through into Hyrule, happiness was not felt anywhere within the world. There was only dread. And under his cloak the mask's smirk twisted into an insane grin.