Is it possible to be resurrected?

If you were, and found out you'd been asleep for over a hundred years, would you feel weird? Old? Something entirely different; like I don't have to feel awkward going to get hearts from creepy, nearly nudist fairies?

Maybe for a while.

But then the lights fade and you realise you're still just grinding the wheel underneath it all. There's still a princess to save, a villain to conqueror, and a culture where you have to dress as a woman to get in—however, this time people think I'm way too young to drink, but I apparently look stellar in the clothing because it goes well with my eyes.

The differences are subtle. Fairies are tailors who no longer give me hearts—I've actually learned to sort of cook, but I keep having to repeat Fruits and Meats, not Monsters and Meats because together those make for some terrible meals. Impa is far older, and lacking a princess to protect—a princess I was responsible for. Epona is nowhere to be found unless you have a special statue that is apparently created in my likeness—I had a green tunic and hat? I miss the hat.

The biggest difference, the most difficult part, is realising I failed the first time.

And not just any failed.

Dead failed.

Needed to be resurrected because I couldn't handle it before failed.

Can't be that hero failed.

Now, in this world a century later, everyone I knew is gone, except in spirit—which is odd to hear those voices in my head because I wonder if it's actually a mental condition instead.

I'm left alone with the problems created by a calamity—a word I find entirely overused, and I've actually started a shot game for every time I hear it. It's helped me kill a lot of meat.

But then the question does change: How do you deal with that?

Knowing you've failed.

Knowing most loath you for stuff you cannot remember.

Knowing you're the reason so many died.

Calamity Ganon—take a shot, hopefully you'll hit a deer—always reappears, and while I never seem to be ready, I've never failed before. Not like that. No hearts could save me, no fairies circled my body.

Just.

Death.

Worse than the fiery mountain.

But not even a place I could stay permanently.

The worst part is coming back. Those who've past get to sleep forever, not knowing anymore pain in this fallen world. They don't have to accidentally wander past guardians and feel the burn of the lasers. They don't have to witness a blood moon rise once again. They don't have to fear what enemies have flooded the roads as they travel from town to town.

Most importantly they don't have to look at the world around them every day and be reminded of how their failure has destroyed countless lives.

It's a burden no one understands. And this time, no one's there to listen. There's no idiotic sword spirit, no annoying "Hey there!" Navi, and no little Midna who helps in battle—I miss being a wolf.

It's just me, alone with my thoughts—and having to listen to those I've failed—as I try to figure out this thing called life—or maybe a second life. A place where my weapons break down faster than the monsters, and no ocarina can stop the moon from rising.

So, I ask again, is it possible to be resurrected?

That answer is yes. I'm living proof.

But can I really make a difference this time?

It's an interesting question to grapple with, considering all I feel weighing me down. How can I help anyone when the enemies are more powerful than I've ever faced? How can I help anyone when the world around me is so different than it used to be—I thought it would be? How can I help anyone when I couldn't even save myself?

I suppose that's where wisdom comes to play like a child running around the village. It weaves in and out, giving moments of inspiration before finally settling around the fire to provide insight to the lost—and if you're unsure of what I'm talking about, just spend time with a little hellion. I promise you won't be disappointed.

It's in those moments, in the very dark, where you realise what you're worth. You discover what you're made of, and if you can continue to battle the darkest nightmares of your life. And my biggest boss battle is not Calamity Ganon—take a shot, and I hope you get some raw prime meat. It's not any version of him or his underlings.

My biggest boss battle is me.

And I'm not referring to Dark Link.

Haven't you heard it yet?

Haven't you seen it between the lines?

Haven't you noticed that none of the issues I've mentioned are truly what's bothering me?

When you get down to the basics, and you stop speaking about what's mentioned on the surface, you see the real threats lurk beneath. They hide there, the demons beneath the road, taunting and jeering. You can't cover the holes they live in. You can't run from them for they follow close behind.

But you can confront them. You can tell them where to go, send them back to Hell. It's not easy, especially during a Blood Moon where they all respawn and try to collect your soul.

Though I can cook meals that will keep my life strong and sometimes vibrant with the right ingredients—as long I keep an eye on my heartline and don't forget to check it. I can collect fairies to save me from a one hit. And I can never stop fighting, because if I stop fighting, that's when my saves no longer work. If I quit, everything dies with me in the end.

I can also realise that I won't always win. Sometimes the Lizalfos are too quick in their strikes. Sometimes the Blood Moon brings Ganon back before I can take the last of his life. Sometimes—maybe more often than not—my mind will convince me I am not the hero they're looking for.

However, as long as I keep trying, as long as I keep up the fight, that means there's a chance to defeat Ganon. All it takes is one lucky shot to change fate.


Hello fair reader.

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