With one final stroke, he swung his blade across the evil king's hideously transfigured face. His body was tired; he was dirty, sweaty, and bleeding. His eyes burned from the tears of both physical and mental pain. This is what it had all been amounting to: the liberation of Hyrule.
Everything he ever knew or ever believed in was suddenly embedded within his very sword. Every bit of anger, from the smallest argument with Mido, to the bloody battle in the lost woods with the Moblin general who had taken over his home, it all amounted to this fatal sword swing.
As he sliced his blade through Ganon's face, it cut into his head, and blood sprayed forth, covering Link's body. Memories came flooding back to him of the first time he saw that amount of blood.
It was in the Lost Woods with Mido. He couldn't have been much older than eight. They had come across a wolf. Link had heard about the wolves from the Deku Tree, and in his mind Link had made them out to be loving and caring creatures. But in reality, this brutal hound was a monster bent on killing the two boys. They had no choice. It was life or death.
That memory would be forever burned into Link's memory. He would not see blood of that caliber again until he faced Gohma at the age of ten. When that they came, he was only a few years older, but his time within the tree had a strange effect on him, and when he cut through Gohma's huge eye, the sight of blood was disturbingly relieving.
Link returned to the present. He was no longer a child, he was a man, and he was seventeen years old. Is that right? Seventeen years? And yet it was only a second. He had only spent a few months within this seventeen-year-old body, and parts of those months were spent traveling back in time to his childhood. Who was to say how old Link really was?
But the time stream, much like the Deku Tree, also had an effect over Link. It was as though he did live those seven years. Though he had no memory and no real life within that time period, it was, as though, as his body matured, so did his mind. He was within the mental frame of a seventeen year old. Some how, all of the facts and questions, happiness and pain, the truth and the lies, and the fact and the fiction had all amounted in his brain.
In this way, Link had both transitioned through puberty and had attained sexual knowledge within the time stream. And all of this knowledge that Link held within himself did not disperse when he returned to his child form from time to time. On the contrary, it was highlighted when he had the ability to look upon his childhood world with his lack of innocence.
With one final lurch, Ganon made a meaningless attempt to stab Link. The battle was already over. Any concept of inflicting damage upon Link had passed. Link complemented Ganon's failure by forcing his blade through Ganon's skull and into his wicked Moblin brain. Time seemed to stop.
It was a moot move. Because of the Triforce of Power, Ganon himself was immortal, but it was what this move symbolized. Ganon had been brought down to the point that he could be contained within the sacred realm, the evil emperor had fallen, and his dark empire with it. The war was over, and the great Hylian rebellion had triumphed. It meant so much more than the death of a monster.
Following his final epic move, everything began to change. There was a bright flash as the sacred realm was opened, and the familiar voice of Ganondorf screaming curses at him. It was all quite a blur. It was then that he found himself floating among the clouds with Zelda. Her words were quiet and fleeting, it was hard to make any meaning out of them.
What could he possibly say about his relationship with Zelda? He had to find her. It was his mission. Nothing more than that. She was the seventh sage. Without her, the war was futile. But could he possibly say he had feelings for her? Could he possibly say he had a romantic devotion to her? She was the mission. She was like a city or group of people, something he had to save from the evil.
Zelda felt a similar connection between them. Link was her savior. In the darkest hour he had risen to the occasion. Even as young children, she felt a sickly sweet childhood romance developing between the two, for those fleeting days they spent together before the war. He was tall and muscular. She could easily say she felt physically attracted to him. And he to her.
But that was not how it was. As they floated together in the brilliant Hyrule sky, they understood what their time together meant. It was business as usual. With a short exchange of words, Link placed the ocarina in Zelda's hand. Slowly, she placed her hand upon his. Her touch was warm and her eyes were sad.
"When peace returns to Hyrule, it will be time for us to say goodbye."
What could that possibly mean? He was to return to the past. Zelda existed in the past. They were not to be divided. Why would she say such a thing? She softly played the ancient Hylian hymn on the ocarina. A familiar blue light engulfed his body. Teleportation was nothing new to Link. But this light was quite different than any other he had experienced before. He slowly lost consciousness as Zelda whispered one last farewell.
What Zelda did that day was quite different that anyone ever imagined. As the seventh sage, she took the power of the sages and the sacred realm into her own hands and fused the timeline. The future would cease to exist. This dark age of Hyrule would enjoy one last night, as the many races came together in a new found unity. Together at Lon Lon ranch, they held a bonfire, burning the many statues and weapons of the evil Moblin army. Even the Kokiri took to leaving the woods for a brief period of time. As the sages flew across the night sky, they gathered together upon Death Mountain to over look the victory they had won.
Link opened his eyes. He was back in the Temple of Time. He was a child again. It was as normal as any other time he would travel between the time periods. Only this would be his last time.
"Navi?" he called out, surprising himself to hear his child voice again. There was no answer. Somehow, she was gone. It didn't quite register at first. He had other things on his mind. He quickly ran from the Temple and made his way through the busy market place. Easily making his way through the well-known path to Zelda's sanctuary courtyard within the castle. He had to know for sure if they had won. Slowly he approached Zelda and called out to her.
"Zelda! We made it back! Did we do it? Is Ganondorf still imprisoned?" The royally garbed girl instantly spun around in shock. She stared at him for a brief period of time before managing to mutter:
"Who are you?"
That was it. That's when it all clicked. She didn't remember him. Zelda had done something to the timeline that erased her memory. Link had full recollection of the events, but it appeared that Zelda had none. There would be a short period in which Link would exit the castle in a blank state, walk out alone in a private grove in Hyrule Field, and have a mental breakdown as he accepted the fact that both Navi and Zelda were gone from his life. Overtime, things slowly began to fall into place for Link. He returned to his home tree house in Kokiri forest and began to ponder his existence.
Link was indeed the Hero of Time. There was proof all around Hyrule that the merging of the time periods was effective. The first clue was that the six sages were non-existent. It was as if they had simply disappeared. Yes, they had a history; they had those who would ask questions following their disappearance, the Gerudos made an extensive search of the desert, King Zora had Lord Jabu-Jabu's colon flushed, but eventually, the harsh realization that these individuals would not return set in. And life went on.
The second clue that the merge was a success was that there was a stronger unification of Hyrule. One of the main elements of Ganondorf's master plan was to turn the races of Hyrule against each other. In this new time period, The King of Hyrule called for a re-unification of all races. The Hyruleian League of Unity was formed among the races.
Hyrule had entered an age of great peace and prosperity. But Link found himself in quite the opposite state of being. Link carried with him all the mental scars from his adult form, as well as all the knowledge he had somehow incurred. His existence was that of the mind of a seventeen year old within a ten year old's body. As time passed, he began to feel very alone in this new world.
In this way, two years past. Link was now twelve years old and was entering puberty, or at least his body was. While the hormones raged within him (the goddesses not so subtle hint to populate the world), Link's brain remained stable. As the two years had passed, Link had brought it upon himself to re-introduce himself to Zelda.
It wasn't the same of course; she was a friend in a new sort of way. Not the old Zelda he knew, but a girl that he would, from time to time, sneak in and visit. They developed a small friendship in this way. But still, the Zelda he knew was gone. Zelda was gone, Saria was gone, even Ruto was gone. There was really only one that remained.
She was growing up too. Her long brown hair reached far down her back. Her chest was starting to develop into that of a woman. Even her personality had matured. Just two years ago, ten year old Malon was care free and sought adventure, that element is what cultivated the powerful friendship between she and Link. But now, only two year later, she was taking on more responsibility. While tending to the horses was once just a childhood hobby, she had made it part of her life.
While Talon continued to lead a rather lazy life, Malon joined Ingo with tending to the ranch. This helped ease Ingo's weary state of mind, and gave Malon a new sense of confidence. Talon smiled on with great pride as he slept his lazy days away.
Could he say that he loved her? What was love to Link? He had no mother. Saria played the roles of older sister, best friend, and childhood crush, but beyond that, he knew no such thing as love. He knew only that this was the strongest feeling he had ever felt in his entire life. He had to take the chance.
It was early in a summer's night when Link and Malon met together in the fields of the ranch. Link had maintained his strong friendship with Malon. He had taken ownership of Epona after Malon realized that Link had a stronger bond with the horse than she did. An animal that she had once clinged to as the last element of her mother, she had given up to Link. Malon was no longer a child.
"It's a beautiful night," Link said as they stared up into the night sky, lying together in the grass.
"No doubt about it fairyboy" Malon replied. Link laughed.
"I can't believe you still call me fairy boy!" Malon smiled and replied, "You'll always be fairy boy to me." They both giggled together and stared at each other. Link knew in his heart that this was it.
"Malon" he began, having trouble forming the words. "Yes?" she asked. Link had to take his chance. "You know, I really value our friendship." She gave Link a smile "Well of course I do fairyboy. You know, before you came along, I didn't have very many close friends, living on the ranch made it hard."
Link was feeling confident. "I feel the same way. I had a close friend back when I lived in the forest and I had a few other friends there too, but I never felt as close to any of them as I do to you." Malon simply smiled. It was affectionate but hallow. Link longed for more than this.
In a pathetic move, Link stretched out his arms. Malon returned his action with a warm hug. She smelled so beautiful. He could smell the outdoors on her, the sweat and the odor of the animals. But there was an over powering sweet fragrance that completed the puzzle to her feminine existence. Link stroked her hair ever so slightly, hoping she wouldn't notice.
Without realizing what he was doing, he pulled Malon closer to him. At first she tried to push back ever so slightly, but found herself caught in Link's grasp. As she made contact with Link's body, Link found himself thoughtlessly exploring Malon's body. As his hand found its way to her chest, she immediately reacted
"Link, stop!" she shouted, as she pushed Link away from her. Slightly shocked at both his own actions and Malon's, Link fell onto the ground. Malon silently glared at him.
"Malon, I'm sorry." Link began, not quite understanding it himself; he just started saying what came to him. "Please, don't take this the wrong way. I don't want to lose you." A look of outrage swept over Malon's face. She stood up at once.
"I don't know what you think you can manipulate out of me, but I just want you to know that I'm not a little girl anymore. If our friendship meant nothing more to you than this, I want nothing to do with you Link." Link was horrified. A look of sheer terror appeared on his face. He had bombed Dodongos with a fierce and determined stance, but hearing these dreaded words Malon produced were enough to destroy that fierceness.
"But Malon, I…" Link began, but Malon turned away from him and started walking back to the house. "All you ever were to me was a friend Link. I'm not ready for something like this. I don't even understand half of what I feel right now." Link understood completely…. or at least he thought he did.
"Malon, I do understand. I've felt the same confusion you do. We can break it together." Malon stood silent for a long time. The cool twilight breeze blew across the ranch; a gust that was usually favored and relaxing was now that of a thousand moblin spears piercing Link's body. At long last, Malon finally spoke.
"All I ever wanted you to be was my friend. My best friend. My fairyboy. But I knew this day would come. I was so worried this would happen." She turned around with tears in her eyes. "I don't love you Link. I'm not ready, and even if I was, I still don't know if I would love you." All Link could do was just stare back with genuine fear.
"After what you've done tonight…I don't think I want to see you for a while." Her voice was breaking. "Just take Epona and leave." "Malon wait!" Link shouted. But it was to no avail, she ran off towards the ranch house sobbing.
This was the breakdown. This was the key event that set into motion the events that would transpire. Link was a broken man. No longer did he have any Hylian affiliation what so ever. This world meant nothing to him anymore. After that night, Link knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his childhood. Navi was the only being he could ever be completely open with. She was the only one who could help him now. He had to find her.
"You are already leaving this land of Hyrule, aren't you?" Zelda asked him. "Yes." Link replied, dry and factual. Link could feel raw emotion within Zelda's words but he was unsure of her truth thoughts. Link knew that he couldn't leave Hyrule without attempting to speak with Zelda one more time. When she produced the Ocarina before his eyes he was shocked at first. Even more so when she began playing the song of time. It was in that moment that Link thought perhaps she did remember….
"The Goddess of Time is protecting you. If you play the Song of time, she will aid you."
As Link road off into the woods, many thoughts clouded his mind. He thought about many things. He thought about Malon. "If only I would have known how she was going to react. If only I could go back, knowing what I do now" Quite a place Link found himself. It was very frustrating to go from controlling time to the point of jumping ahead seven years, to be reduced to a normal dweller of the time stream.
Little did he know as he rode into the woods with the Ocarina in hand, he would soon find that he could manipulate the power of time itself far beyond what he could have ever wished for that night at Lon Lon Ranch. It was only a matter of time.