Quick update wowowow

I'll admit, this was really fun to write eheheh it didn't quite turn out how exactly I wanted it but for the most part I like it.

Thank you for your reviews~! Please don't hesitate to give me your thoughts o3o

warnings: mentions of violence


Panic gripped him like a vice within the short transition between consciousness and unconsciousness. He awoke, crying out and thrashing against his imaginary manacles. His mind desperately clung to the remaining fragments of the dream before they slipped away like sand through open fingers.

Eyes snapping open, he lurched forward from his position of being propped up against the tree's inner walls, panting and gasping. Nausea blanketed him swiftly, the conditions he'd been in in his dream carrying over to his waking body. The pain, the starvation, the thirst were all still fresh in his mind.

He hunched over to one side, coughing, but luckily he could steel himself before he emptied the contents of his stomach. Slowly, he calmed down. His breathing alleviated and the unconscious sensations faded.

Link blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He was where he'd remembered taking shelter for the night; inside the hollow of a massive tree.

This night was unlike the other nights, and it disturbed him greatly.

It had disturbed him because he didn't want to wake up, at least, not so soon.

"I merely wish to speak with you."

Link dropped his face in his hands. Seldom could he hear voices in his dreams, and if he could they were only background noise to his suffering. But that voice was still so clear in his mind, spoken like its owner was truly right in front of him.

He had been so close, so close to finding out some clue as to what was going on inside his head, but he'd awoken before the demon lord could continue, leaving him in an agonizing state of darkness. A part of him was almost tempted to go back to sleep and see if he could find out a little more, but he ultimately decided against it. There was no guarantee he could continue where he'd left off, or be dropped into yet another torturous nightmare.

Sighing, the hero made his way over to the low opening in the tree and crawled through it. His palms met the grass, damp with morning dew, before he stood. Dawn was just breaking, the morning sunlight reaching down through the canopy of leaves overhead. Link yawned, rubbing his eyes. He supposed it was better to get an early start on the day rather than later. It wasn't like sleep was much of a comfort for him anymore.

The blond turned in the opposite direction from where he had come, eyes narrowing determinedly as he set off deeper into unknown territory.

'I know you're out there.'


The days that followed were of fruitless wandering, aimless searching to no avail – or what seemed like aimless anyway. The youth truthfully had no idea where he was going, only following instinctual urges to head in one direction or another.

These unfamiliar woods were much different from Faron. The strange growth that had covered the colourful woods was absent here. The trees grew taller, straighter, and thicker, their colours a lot less diverse and vibrant. In comparison, this unexplored area seemed almost dull.

But, besides aesthetics, the characteristic most prominent here was the silence.

The Faron Woods were lively, filled with various creatures ranging from birds to Kikwis to insects. But here it was almost the opposite; no chitter of bugs, no callings of birds, not even the cry of a distant monster could be heard. The only sounds that reached his ears were the crunching of his boots through the undergrowth and the wind that hissed through the trees above. Other than that, it was completely dead.

Link thought it was eerie, to say the least. He found himself always checking behind himself, eyes and ears on high alert.

Once or twice he could have sworn he'd heard voices whispering to him through the gentle caress of the fall breeze, but they were gone as soon as they had appeared and everything fell into that blank, dismal state of soundlessness once more.

What came next were the shadows. He wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him or if they had been there the whole time.

Silent as everything else, he could see them darting around the edges of his vision. When he would turn sharply to try and catch a glimpse of them, they would vanish among the trees and out of sight. The hero didn't dwell on them for too long. He would inhale and exhale slowly before continuing on.

He was never one to be afraid of the dark, but the nights in this foreign land left him feeling more and more uneasy. Much to his disappointment (and aggravation), the dream he'd had on the first night in the forest did not return and he was left with his regular visions of torment. They seemed to be growing more and more vivid and he suspected that had something to do with the fact that he was nowhere near Zelda. Each night he would awake, his screams echoing far into the blackness, no one to hear them.

Or at least, that's what he hoped.

Before long it felt like he'd been trudging through the forest for weeks when in reality it had only been a few days. The silence was unending, pressing down on his eardrums incessantly. It was beginning to become painful to listen to, like a steady growl transforming into a deafening roar. He found he would do anything to escape it; going out of his way to snap twigs lying on the forest floor, rustling bushes louder than necessary, even talking out loud to himself.

And in some ways it did help keep the silence at bay, but he could still feel it there, tangible, like a living thing. He would try and occupy his mind. He thought of Zelda and his life back up in Skyloft before his mission had begun, but that didn't seem to help at all. It only left him feeling emptier. He thought of Fi, the sword spirit that had been his companion throughout his journey, now forever resting in the Master Sword. He wished she was here; she would know what to do and she could help him. But thinking of her didn't help much either.

The silence made him realize that, despite the strange occurrences, despite the fact that he had friends and a life down here in Hyrule, the hero felt truly and utterly alone.

As dusk fell, he had stopped walking and found shelter underneath a tree, eyes blankly trained on the ground, contemplating the solitude.

However, that night, his dreams were of a much different sort.

He did not find himself being held captive in a dark chamber; enduring some horrific punishment that he was sure came undeserved.

Instead, he opened his eyes to see himself standing in a field as chaos raged all around him.

There was fighting in every direction; swords clashing, unidentifiable creatures slashing and tearing at one another. He could see humans battling with all they had, and humans dying, and with each one that fell he felt a sorrowful stab in his chest. He felt their pain. He felt their grief. He could do nothing but watch as they were slaughtered.

The overpowering stench of blood and death reached his nostrils. He gagged, wishing he could turn away, wishing he could stop himself from witnessing the bloodshed.

But he was not merely the spectator as he had assumed. A demon tore itself from the frenzied battle, his cruel gaze locked on the hero. Details were not easily made out, but the demon's eyes were quite clearly a vibrant red.

And though Link had never seen this being before in his life, the look he was giving him sent a chilling wave of familiarity through him.

The dream left him shuddering violently as he awoke, his face wet with tears he did not realize he'd shed.

A hand on his leg forced a shocked yell from him and he struck out instinctively, his fist meeting something soft… and furry.

A squeak rang out, startling him to full awareness. He glanced down, seeing an overturned mound of fur. It took him a second to recognize what it was in the darkness: a Kikwi.

Link immediately felt guilty, but also relieved by seeing something so familiar. The blond sat up and helped the creature back onto its feet. It was odd that one was out here, so far away from Faron… was it lost, perhaps?

"Sorry, I'm sorry… I didn't mean that," he murmured an apology. The Kikwi seemed apprehensive of him but didn't attempt to flee. It twitched its narrow snout and drew closer, lifting up the hem of his cloak and crawling under it to nestle close to his body.

"You're cold, aren't you?" Link asked softly. He felt the animal nod.

Sighing through his nose, the hero wiped his face and leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes once more.

For the rest of that night he did not dream.


On the fourth day of travel he was about ready to give up, turn around and head back to the village settlement. He was worn, he was tired, he'd found nothing, and he was more than happy to get away from this forest as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like he could leave today. A thick fog had settled over the forest, making it difficult to see more than about a hundred yards ahead of him. And with the dense forestry in all directions, it would be almost impossible finding his way back.

For a troubling moment he considered the prospect of getting lost, never to return from these woods. Zelda and his friends would never hear from him again. He would be doomed to forever wander the silent forest, slowly losing his mind from the maddening isolation…

He brushed the thought away, kneeling down by a clear stream to fill up his water bottle. As he watched the liquid flow into the glass container, the hero felt a soft breeze caress the back of his neck, sending a chill down his spine along with another sickening sensation sliding over him like silk.

Link stood abruptly, feeling the presence close to him. So close. Too close. He whirled around, eyes scanning the trees frantically.

Someone, or something, was here.

He didn't see anything at first. His ears strained to pick up the tiniest noise but all was silent.

But then he heard it, whispering and hardly audible, but with a malevolent undertone he knew all too well.

"Sky… child…"

Link's heart nearly stopped as he heard the click of chimes not far behind him. He spun on his heel, the blood pounding in his ears.

There, across the river, half a dozen multi-coloured shimmering diamonds fluttered to the ground.

His eyes widened in slow shock. There was no way that could be an illusion.

The hero leapt across the river in a few bounds, using the rocks as stepping stones. He swiped at the air just as the last of the diamonds disappeared, but the shapes slipped from his grasp. It was as though he were trying to grab a shadow itself.

Click!

Link's gaze snapped up, seeing another cluster of rhombus' further up ahead. Without a second thought, he was off; shoving branches out of his way as he desperately ran towards the glowing shapes.

"Hey!" He called out, the sound of his voice echoing into silence. The diamonds vanished before he could reach them, but he already knew how this game was going to work.

Click!

Link's gaze snapped to his left. Sure enough, there lay another array of light and shapes. Excitement ignited within his veins like fire.

The chase was on.

Click!

The hero crashed rather ungracefully through the undergrowth, scrambling to keep up as the numerous clicks and diamonds sent him racing amongst the trees.

Click!

Click!

Click!

He stumbled, falling once or twice in his hurry, but he got back up just as quickly. His heart was hammering against his ribs. His lungs burned and his throat felt scorched. But he didn't slow. Not for a second.

Click!

Click!

Click!

The game of cat and mouse wore on, and he found himself tiring. He had to pause or he felt as though he would collapse, hunching over onto his knees and breathing hard. Luckily, the playful entity seemed to stop as well and let him catch his breath.

Link raised his head and narrowed his eyes, peering out into the fog. He didn't understand. After searching for quite some time, why did he stumble upon something only now?

"Where are you…?" He murmured lowly, his gaze travelling around the clearing, seeing nothing beyond the circle of trees. His question garnered no response, vocal or otherwise, and his frustration climbed.

"Show yourself!" The blond yelled at nothing, his blue eyes darting around himself, searching for something, anything.

No. He couldn't have possibly lost it, could he?

The leaves above rustled as the wind picked up once more, but there was something oddly different about it...

It seemed to come from behind him and he turned, spotting an opening between the trees. Curiosity piqued, he stalked forward, moving aside a few stray branches. He licked his dry lips and cautiously proceeded through the threshold.

The area opened up into a much wider space. Structures began to materialize through the haze as Link drew closer in awe.

He soon realized that the ground had changed beneath his feet, shifting from grass to a cracked white stone riddled with green spots where plants had poked through. The hero glanced left, then right, seeing walls rise up on either side of him, made of the same white stone, though some parts of it looked like it would crumble at any given moment. Wide columns were arranged in two neat rows running parallel to the walls.

It took him a moment to realize he had wandered into some sort of courtyard, and it was massive.

He took his time crossing the expanse of it, some rational part of him still apprehensive of what he had just discovered. Everything was so still, unnaturally so. He didn't know what to expect, and what to anticipate, and it made him weary.

However, he wasn't quite prepared for what lay at the other end of the yard. A rather grand set of double doors came into view, flanked by two ginormous armoured golems looking as though they had been forged from the earth itself. The doors lead to a structure half protruding from a rock face. It was made of pale stone, its architecture bearing a resemblance to the Skyview Temple. Link absentmindedly wondered if it ran deep into the ground in the same way.

The astonished hero gaped up at his finding. Of course he was naturally inclined to want to know what dwelled within it, but his nervousness was not quelled by his curiosity. While he did feel a pull, a certain energy drawing him towards this particular spot, every instinct screamed to turn back and get as far away as possible.

Remain blissfully ignorant, some small voice whispered. But he couldn't do that. Not now. Not when he was so close to reaching the answers that had eluded him for so long, and he was sure that they lay just beyond this door.

His eyes drifted back to the two suits of armour. One of them held upright what appeared to be a sinister combination of a hammer and an axe. A chain was clenched tight in the other's fist, what dangled from it was a deadly-looking spiked mace. The stood absolutely motionless.

Lifeless, dead statues. That's all they were. Nothing more.

So then why did he have such a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach?

The green-clad hero took a deep breath before moving his foot forward. He took a step, then another, and another. The golems did not stir, and it almost seemed silly to suspect that they would. Link shook his head, stopping before the door.

"Alright…" he muttered to himself, nerves feeling like they had been burnt at the ends. Without wasting any more time, he raised his hands and pushed against the door…

… only to jerk back with a yell of surprise.

As soon as his palms had touched the marble, a series of runes had spread out across the stone like a spider's most intricate web. The glowing text travelled down along the ground, winding its way up the two golem's bodies. As it faded, a new light flared to life in the sockets where their eyes would be.

A trap…?

Link backed away from them hurriedly, watching as their bodies creaked and groaned as they began to move. One of them shook off a few vines that had been growing up its side. The other appeared to be cracking its neck. They resembled rusted machines that were only beginning to be put back into use after a long period of time.

The ball and chain golem took a clanking step forward, its head snapping down to look at the hero. Clutching its weapon, it raised his hand up and begun spinning the deadly mace.

The youth reached back and drew only his sword – he doubted his shield would be of any use against these opponents – his eyes fixed and determined.

'Come.'


Oooooh shhhhit.

Any and all feedback is appreciated, lovelies. :P

R&R