Creation's Bane
Chapter Ten
30.june.2008
l2set
Notes: i'm back! 3 it's been a while, and i do apologize for that. and i found myself a wonderful beta-reader. thanks bunches, Kyrie!
any mistakes found here are mine and mine alone. enjoy.
"Bran!" I heard a shrill voice scream over mine. I could not open my eyes or move my body; it felt as if I was trapped inside of myself. Then the memory of Ganon cutting open my throat rushed back to me.
I was dead, and something had happened to Bran, the phantom voice that had allowed me to be killed by the King of Darkness. I hoped whatever happened to him hurt, and hurt badly.
You don't really wish that, do you?
You let me die! I screeched at him, and he just snorted. What the hell is wrong with you?!
I told you to be patient. Everything will come into view, he said, and there was nothing I could do, being dead. The woman above me kept crying and screaming; her voice was oddly familiar.
"Milady, what is all the - oh my." A deeper voice chimed in and I knew it was Impa, which meant that the other voice was Zelda. She was crying over Bran. "He knows."
"Why hasn't he come? Why did he send back Bran?" Zelda asked, upset, sounding very unlike herself. I heard Bran sigh quietly, and then Zelda collapsed on top of my body. "Bran, dear Goddesses, why did you allow this to happen?"
"Zelda, you have to move off of Bran. We still need him, even in death."
"You're right, you're right. We still need someone to guide Link through his trials. I can use my magic to fuse with his body - so I can help without Ganon knowing that I am moving around the land."
They were silent for a long time. I knew that Zelda could fuse her soul with another body; she was a powerful mage. She would need Impa's magic in order to keep the body from rotting, though; her magic was like that of Bongo Bongo's. She could, however, still keep the dead from becoming ReDead without burial rites.
I drifted into sleep as Impa began the ancient chants.
"Impa, his eyes are opening . . ." I heard Zelda whisper; I opened my eyes slowly, relishing the fact that I was no longer dead. I didn't know how it happened, but I wasn't dead. I was alive. I could see Link and Navi again. "Did you do something wrong?"
"I don't think so . . . unless there was a powerful spirit passing through. . ." Impa trailed off. A strong spirit? Didn't they know it was I - Sheik - who had been alive for so long I was actually shocked I could die and come back to life? I tried to call to them.
"Zel-Zelda," I choked out; my throat was parched, and I could barely form the words. But they had to know it was me.
"Bran?" she asked, looking at me. I blinked at her and she gasped and stumbled back. "Impa, look at him!"
Impa stood over me, her eyes filled with worry and concern. I couldn't look away from her as she bent closer. I could hear the sharp intake of breath from her mouth as she looked away quickly and went to the princess, who was crying in a corner.
I told you that all would be well, Bran said in my head. I forgot how upset she gets, though.
What is this? Who are you? What the fuck is happening? I asked in frustration. I forced myself into sitting position and looked around the room. Memories of the first time I saw this safe house came back to me. Everything became clearer.
"By the Goddesses, you lied to me," I said; I turned to look at Zelda and found myself looking out at the desert and a carbon copy of myself. The tree by the dried oasis was filled with black birds; I couldn't help but feel out of place. "Who are you?"
"I am Bran, right-hand to Zelda. I am the part of the prophecy she foresaw when fleeing the castle. I was to lead the Hero of Time through his journey."
"That's my job - it has been for all eternity," I said, still amazed by how much he looked like me. The black birds crowed, screeching, as the sky grew black. "...You're me."
"And because of my death you are you again. I knew it the moment I saw him," Bran replied, his voice oddly comforting. "When I saw him at the well, he looked me in the eyes and I knew that he didn't know me. If I had truly given him the Nocturne of Shadow, he would've known me. It was my eyes that gave me away; that worried me."
"That worried you? Enough to make you go to the Castle?" He nodded. "Why the Castle? You knew it was in ruins; you didn't fight!"
"I felt safe." The black birds flew out of the tree as lightning struck it. Bran didn't move. "I just knew it was the right thing to do - the Hero didn't know me. But he knew someone to be."
"This is crazy. You're dead."
"And you're stalling. You're the only one who doesn't know their place. You rail against it. Impa knew where she belonged, and Zelda will soon know too. The Hero and his fairy know their place, Sheik. Even I know that I belong with the dead. You're the only one confused."
"I'm to guide him, then..."
"You are to do much more than that," Bran gave me a glance and looked at the sky. "The climate of evil is ascending faster than predicted. He'll need you. Don't fight it."
"What --" I started, but a sudden sand storm flew between us. When it calmed he was gone, along with the birds and the darkened sky.
Link stood before me.
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