A/N: This chapter was revised as of 3/10/13 – Polished, added narrative.
This chapter was revised as of 5/29/13 – Minor errors and typos fixed.
What Makes a Hero
By: Selphie Kinneas 175
Chapter 14: It Can Always Get Worse
.:.
The fresh, cool air of Kakariko was more than welcoming to the young hero with an overheated temperature.
The village was quiet - most likely due to it still being rather early in the morning - as the portal Midna created dropped him off in front of the spirit's spring. Eldin informed him that in the land guarded by the spirit Lanayru, which was north of Kakariko, he would find the one he had been searching for. He just knew that the spirit had to be referring to Ilia, and his heart jumped uncontrollably at the thought of finding her.
Would she be happy to see him? Would she be hurt? Would she be angry at him? Oh Goddesses… he didn't even care if she greeted him with fury dripping off her every word, as long as he would live to greet her once more.
He was snapped from his thoughts as he suddenly heard rustling to his right. He turned around to the sight of Renado along with all the children. Colin seemed to still be having some difficulty getting around after the ordeal with the vile Bulblin king. How long had he been gone anyway?
"Link…" he could just barely hear the small boy's call over the wind blowing past his ears.
Link was quickly reminded of his injured leg as he ran to meet Colin just as the boy stumbled to the dirt. The hero ignored the pain as he instead focused on that of his younger brother.
He placed his hands on Colin's shoulders as the lad looked up at him and began speaking, "Ilia… You've got to save Ilia! Those monsters left me with the other kids, but they must have taken her somewhere else!"
The hero sighed as he tried to get a word in, but Colin continued, "Whenever I thought I couldn't go on, I would think of you and Ilia and hold on, Link…"
Link watched as the small, frail boy slowly got to his feet and said, "See? I… I'm fine now."
He couldn't fight back the smile that ensued even if he wanted to. No doubt, Ilia had always been significant to everyone from the village; with it being such a small community everyone was important in different ways. She was motherly with the little ones and friendly with everybody, despite her occasional outburst due to her rather short temper. That didn't bother anyone from back home though, as they knew she only ever lost her temper when it was dealing with something that was extremely dear to her.
She often got angry at the children for rough-housing, only because she didn't want them to get hurt. She often got angry with her father for going easy on people, only because she loved him and wanted him to be seen as the best mayor the village had ever had. She often got angry with Link for many things, such as the way he treated Epona and the way he treated himself, only because he meant so much to her.
Link smiled again at the thought of his best friend; he would get her back safely no matter what that meant he had to do.
He stood slowly and with much difficulty, but he hid it rather well, as Colin spoke up again, "Remember what I told you back in Ordon, Link?"
Of course he remembered; he could never forget it. He had told him he wanted to be just like him when he grew up, just like he had told his father right before he…
"So you don't have to worry about me anymore! Go help Ilia!" he said enthusiastically, snapping the young hero from his thoughts.
Renado stepped in, swearing to Link that he would watch over the children. He then went on to say, "In Hyrule, countless tales are told of the ancient hero… and your deeds bring them all to mind. May the graces of the great Goddesses who shaped Hyrule bear you on your way."
When they all proceeded to bow before him, he couldn't help but be shocked and slightly embarrassed. He wanted to tell them to stand up, that he was still the same person he had always been and that none of this was necessary, but he couldn't find his voice. He didn't want those closest to him to treat him any differently; he didn't feel any differently.
As the shaman's eyes opened, still bowing before the hero, the sight of his right leg hastily wrapped in bloodied cloth caught his attention. Now that the wise man thought on it, he didn't look too well at all. His skin was a deep red color with beads of sweat pouring down every visible inch of him.
"Link," his deep voice spoke up, causing the children that were bowing to perk up and see what was the matter, "Let's get you inside, out of this harsh sunlight. It appears you have already had your fair share of heat, am I right?"
Link sighed, instantly being reminded of it all, "Yes."
As he tried to follow the group indoors, he limped quite noticeably. After only a few steps, his bad leg gave out on him and he fell to his knee, grasping at his calf.
Renado turned around at the sound of Colin calling his name from next to the hero.
"Are you okay, Link?" the small boy asked, grabbing his shoulders.
Link feigned a smile, "I'm alright. It's just my leg."
"Me and Mister Renado will fix you up!" Colin proclaimed.
The shaman smiled at the child's eagerness to help tend to the man he considered to be his brother. He got on Link's right side, allowing him to hold onto him for support as he helped him make his way into the inn, Colin leading the way.
Ascending the stairs was rather time consuming, but they made it eventually. Link sat down on the bed while Renado gathered his supplies and - with the help of Colin - he removed his boots. Once they were off, he let his body fall back onto the soft surface beneath him. He exhaled slowly at the relief of being out of that unbearable, intense heat. He was sure the others found the current temperature of the village to be rather warm, but after being in the volcano, this place felt like a winter wonderland.
Colin eyeballed the cloth that was wrapped around his calf for a moment until Renado walked over to the right side of the bed, pulled up a chair, and took a seat. He motioned for Link to sit upright as he placed a pillow at the young man's back.
"So," the shaman spoke up as he began unraveling the fabric to reveal the wound, "Tell me what happened."
Link inhaled slowly as he responded, "I was shot with an arrow."
He could see Colin grimace out of the corner of his eyes.
Renado paused and looked up at him, a confused look on his older features, "Then… how did you remove it?"
The young man didn't know what to say. Renado had asked in such a shocked and perplexed manner that Link was beginning to question whether or not he was supposed to have taken it out on his own. But then he realized he wouldn't have been able to continue on and face the patriarch with the arrow lodged in his leg, anyway, so it wasn't as if he had had a choice.
"I… pulled it out?" he replied hesitantly.
The older man immediately began applying pressure to Link's wound in different spots as if he was searching for something beneath the skin. He winced slightly at the pain of his injury being touched, but it was bearable.
Renado looked back up at him, seemingly bewildered, "I don't know how you removed the arrow without the head getting stuck in your leg. You are either very lucky, or the Goddesses are truly watching over you."
Link was shocked; he hadn't even thought of that before. He never knew anything about medicine or tending to people, and he certainly knew even less about arrows and how to effectively remove them from one's flesh. He had been in such pain at the strike that he hadn't thought rationally about the fact that the arrowhead would have logically been stuck inside his calf muscle.
Perhaps Midna knew and did some magic on it? She didn't appear to know what she was doing simply by how lazily she wrapped his leg. Maybe the Goddesses had actually helped him somehow? He had no idea.
Colin was forced to leave the room as it was necessary for Link to remove his trousers in order for the shaman to clean and bandage his wound. The pain was rather heavy during the cleaning, but once he began rebinding his calf, it became more tolerable, and he quickly let sleep consume him.
Dreams filled his weary head of being back home with Ilia, herding the goats, riding Epona... The grass… the trees… nothing important to do, nowhere important to go… Ah, how he missed that feeling. It all left him in a flash when he began to slowly wake up.
"Morning Link! Are you feeling better?" Colin greeted him excitedly.
Link rubbed his eyes and he noticed a cool, damp cloth on his forehead.
"You had quite the temperature after coming down from that mountain yesterday," he heard Renado say from the doorway to the room, "but-"
"But I brought you some water and I kept a nice, cold rag on your head all night and you cooled down!" Colin interjected excitedly.
Link smiled, "Thank you. I feel much better."
After having something to eat and listening to Colin talk about how things have been going in the village, he decided he needed to head out, despite Renado telling him he should stay off his leg for a little bit more time. He didn't want to leave Ilia waiting any longer; he wanted to find her and get her to safety as soon as possible.
As he was saying his goodbyes, the children begged him to show them his archery skills. Although he didn't want to take any more time away from finding Ilia, he did enjoy seeing the children so happy, and he would gladly take a few simply moments to give that to them. Besides, the extra archery practice would, indeed, come in handy.
The gleeful squealing of the children as he began hitting the targets reminded him of being at home and how they would always ask him to show them something – anything - on his days off. He had missed it terribly.
They had him aim for some close targets, then some farther, and then some all the way across the village. After he amazed them by hitting a slender pole Talo was holding at his typical watch post at the top of the mountain, they all praised him endlessly before heading back to their usual spots to play, all except Colin.
"Link?" he spoke up, getting the older one's attention, "Are you going to find Ilia?"
The hero nodded.
Colin seemed disheartened, "What if she got hurt?"
Link sighed. He had to admit, that question had been plaguing his mind too, but he couldn't tell the little boy that, "She didn't. But even if she did, Mister Renado would make her all better. He's fixed up me and you both now, hasn't he?"
The young lad nodded slowly, still not convinced.
"She'll be alright, I promise. I'll get her back here safe and sound before you know it. Don't forget, I still need you to protect everyone here, okay?"
That always made Colin grin, and this time was no different, "Okay, Link. I'll be waiting for you two!"
Link smiled in return and mounted Epona, heading north out of the village.
It wasn't long until the curtain of twilight was before them. Epona reared up and whinnied, obviously disturbed by the strange wall of darkness. Midna, however, thrived in this territory.
She became visible and proceeded to stretch and yawn, saying, "Ahh… finally! About to head back into the twilight! Honestly, though, could you have taken any longer?"
He ignored her sarcasm, as he was starting to grow accustomed to doing, and as he dismounted his mare he spoke up, "How did you remove that arrow?"
She looked confused for a moment, but then quickly realized where this was going and scoffed, "You mean what that old geezer was talking about before? As if I have a clue! I wouldn't have cared if the arrowhead got lodged in your leg, anyway - I just pulled it out. Must've been the work of your Goddesses or whatever crock that old guy said."
Link was confused, but he shrugged it off, chalking it up to a simple miracle that he would have to thank the Goddesses for later, and he then headed for the entrance to the twilight invaded Hyrule.
"Let's go!" the imp yelled, excited to re-enter the realm in which she so adored.
It was all the same as the previous two times they had entered the twilight. Midna pulled him through carelessly and harshly, the atmosphere was dark and gloomy, and the pain of transforming was searing and unpleasant. She had mentioned earlier that this was supposedly the last of the twilight he would have to witness; he prayed that was true. There wasn't anything he enjoyed about being stuck in perpetual darkness. Each time he entered it, he could only count the minutes until he would see the light of day again.
When they came across Ilia's bag on the ground and her scent filled his nostrils, fierce determination instantly welled up inside of him and he sped off in the direction that his canine-enhanced nose took him.
This part of the field was expansive, but he noticed the wound in his leg was almost nonexistent now that he was a wolf, or maybe he just didn't notice it now that he had two more legs to run on. Nevertheless, he ran across the grassy plain at a record speed.
"Hey!" Midna stopped him abruptly by pulling on his fur. She leaned in close to his ear and said, "Haven't we seen this castle before?"
When he took the time to stop and look around him, he found it was true. It looked like the castle they had ventured through when he first transformed into a beast. It looked majestic, truly, even in the gloomy light that shrouded it; it stood tall despite the horrible fate that had befallen it. In a way, it reminded him of Princess Zelda: never faltering or straying from duty when hardship or sadness were bountiful. Well at least… that was the impression she had given off when they had briefly met.
As they entered Castle Town, Link was immediately dumbfounded. There were so many orbs, so many spirits of people that carried on through the town, blissfully unaware of the doom that had covered the entire town like a veil. The way the castle loomed in the distance was now almost… haunting.
He followed the scent until his nose brought him to a door with a sign beside it that read 'medical clinic.' Link instantly panicked – had she gotten hurt? Then he realized that the scent continued on; it trailed out of the health center and down the street a bit farther until it reached a door that had been left ajar.
Eager to see if the one he had been searching for was alright, he bounded into what he read to be the bar.
His canine senses were ablaze with Ilia's scent in this room. When he concentrated on deciphering the different orbs, he instantly spotted her, and his heart fluttered upon the sight of her familiar face.
She seemed disheartened as she watched over what Link assumed to be a Zora child along with a larger looking woman. He had only ever heard of the aquatic creatures from the adults back in the village; he had never actually seen one before, but this being fit the description.
He listened to the two females talk and his assumptions were proven true, although the Zora seemed to not be faring too well. Luckily, Ilia appeared to be just fine, and Link's heart rejoiced at that realization. He had been so guilt-ridden and torn apart with worry over his best friend, and to see her unharmed did wonders for his wellbeing.
If only she could see him… If only he could speak to her, tell her that he was here to take her home…
He couldn't rid this place of the twilight soon enough.
After discerning the location of the spirit Lanayru on a nearby map, they set out with much haste. He never had any idea that Hyrule Field was so vast and sprawling, but he ran across it as quickly as he could, anxious to regain his human self and truly reunite with Ilia.
When they made it to the great bridge, something smelled terribly strong, but he trekked onto it nonetheless. Halfway across the bridge, Midna tugged on him to get him to stop. He could hear her sniffing now, too.
"Hey, do you smell something funny?" she asked nervously.
Of course he did, but he thought nothing of it. As he looked to his feet, he noticed that was where the smell had been coming from. It smelled like… oil.
That was when his head snapped up at the sound of a bowstring being pulled pack. He noticed a single Bulblin preparing a strike, but it was aimed much too high to be trying to hit them. They watched as the flaming arrow soared over their heads and landed at the end of the bridge they had entered from, instantaneously setting the odorous fluid alight. Before he could run in the opposite direction, however, the monster set fire to the other side of the bridge as well.
The flammable liquid quickly caught the flames and it began moving towards the center at a rapid pace.
"Oh no! We're trapped! Get out of here!" Midna shrieked, tugging on his fur fearfully.
They needed to get off the bridge, and quickly… but how? There was no way around the blazes and there was nothing but a straight drop below. Link spotted two crates nearby and pushed one against the wall of the bridge, using it to climb up onto bridge's ledge. He looked down nervously and the imp immediately knew what he was thinking.
"You can't be serious. We can't jump from this high!"
Link grumbled as he motioned in both directions, pointing out to his companion that the flames were now very close to them, and there was no other way to go.
Midna sighed anxiously, shutting her eyes tight as she shrieked, "Okay, okay! Just hurry up and go!"
He looked down at where he was about to jump, carefully trying to examine where he could land safely. He thought he spotted some water at the very bottom; he wasn't sure, but Goddesses, he hoped he was right.
"Go!"
He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and leapt from the bridge with a howl emanating from him and a screech from Midna. By the graces of the Goddesses, the duo landed in a small pool of water with a large splash. The impact felt like a harsh slap, but the pain quickly subsided.
When they surfaced, the imp surprisingly commended him for landing safely in a puddle. She then pointed out that this was supposed to be Lake Hylia… but there was hardly any water. He looked around at the grim setting and the dried up lakebed – was this truly the same lake he had heard the villagers explain to be one of the most beautiful sights to behold in Hyrule?
It only made him angrier and more eager to end this dreaded twilight and return the land to its former glory.
As they started looking for the spirit's spring, they came across multiple orbs. Most of them appeared to be fish-like people, just like the one they had seen Ilia watching over earlier. If this was the Zora's home, why had the little one gone so far away and ended up in Castle Town?
After a bit more wandering about searching for clues as to how to reach the spring, they spotted a monster. When it realized it had been seen, it blew into a blade of grass that Link had often used back home to summon a hawk. Only this time, a strange, dark creature came down from the gloomy skies and the fiend hopped onto its back.
Link was able to dispatch of the lesser monsters with ease, leaving its mount without a master. Midna noticed this and immediately formed a crazy idea. She hopped onto its back, calmed it down, and took control over the mindless bird-like terror. She told him to get ready, and before he could brace himself, the flying fiend grasped his body up into its talons.
Midna steered the beast into a high, waterless cavern that lead up to the uppermost part of Zora's River.
The first thing the two noticed was how drastically cold it had gotten. As they continued onward, they found ice and snow abound. Midna pointed out that this was supposed to be Zora's Domain, a place filled with beautiful pools of crystal clear water, and yet, there was no water in sight; it had all been completely frozen over.
"Hurry up!" Midna yelled from atop him; he could feel her shivering.
The imp helped him ascend the now-frozen waterfall by jumping to dangerous and highly unstable ledges and protruding ice shards. He was nearly impaled by falling slivers of solidified water more times than he cared to admit, and towards the top he came perilously close to falling to his death.
His heart skipped a beat as his back paws skidded off the slippery ground, leaving him dangling on the edge. He dared to look down, seeing chunks of ice fall the dozens of feet he had just climbed only to crash to the ground and break into thousands of shards. He gulped nervously, quickly averting his gaze as he used all of his upper body strength to pull himself back up.
Once they made it to solid ground, the wolf took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly; he was truly grateful he had had Midna with him that time; he wouldn't have been able to find the sure footing on his own and she had encouraged him to take it slow – she could be caring and helpful when she so chose.
Inside a cave-like chamber, they found more shadow beasts that were dispatched of easily. There was a highly ornate seat towards the back of the chamber; it appeared to be a throne room but there was no one and nothing around but ice.
"Whoa! Hey!" Midna smacked him on the back harshly to get his attention, "Down! Look below the ice!" she shouted.
He did just that, immediately noticing numerous orbs. Intrigued, he concentrated his canine senses, and what he saw dumbfounded him.
There were dozens of Zoras trapped in the ice.
They were all frozen in their last waking stance, most of which were swimming frantically to the top trying to save themselves, but they were all too late. Some of the ones toward the bottom didn't even know what hit them, as he noticed that they were all swimming leisurely in the depths. He could see the fear in some of the nearer ones' eyes; he had to look away.
He heard Midna say something about this being strange, but he had a hard time focusing.
"Hey…" she tugged on his ears to get him to listen, "What do you want to do? We can't just leave them like this…"
Well, of course not, but what could they… wait, did she just show remorse and care for someone other than herself? Was this the same imp that had been travelling with him thus far? If only he had been human at that moment, he would have smiled so wide that she would have regretted her words.
He knew she would show her considerate side sooner or later, he always knew she had it somewhere buried in that cold and selfish demeanor of hers. Even if she still treated him cruelly when he regained his true form - which he was sure she would - at least he knew she had the occasional moment of selflessness.
She pointed out that they needed to find something warm to melt the thick ice with. It took some thought and some recollection, but after a few moments, it came to him. Link signaled for Midna to warp them to Death Mountain where they picked up the massive hunk of once-flaming rock that had plummeted to the ground and nearly squished him on their last visit to this place.
When they warped it back to Zora's Domain, it came crashing down into the deep pool. The boulder instantly broke the ice on contact, and the residual heat melted the rest of it, creating a strong current downstream, taking care of the rest of the frozen waters down the river.
Link was glad to notice that none of the Zoras were harmed when the giant boulder plunged into the water; they were confused and disoriented from being thawed out, but they were alright.
As they turned to leave, Link felt a strange presence behind him. He turned his head to see a ghostly outline of a very regal looking Zora. It spoke to him words of thanks for saving the Zora people and the waters of the spring. The apparition stated that, in life, she was the queen of the Zoras, and that her name was Rutela.
Link inched closer, captivated by what this lingering spirit had to say. He heard Midna make a snide remark from his back, but he ignored it, and he hoped the queen did too.
The late queen explained that 'the dark ones' came and executed her before her people as a warning to them. She then proceeded to ask the hero for a favor. She spoke of her offspring that she had sent to Hyrule Castle to inform the princess of their fate, but she feared for him, and asked Link to save her young one that she called Prince Ralis.
Just as he was about to nod in agreement, she added that she would bestow upon him the ability to swim and breathe in very deep waters just before she vanished from sight. He would have gladly saved her son without the reward, but without a doubt, said reward would be helpful.
Remembering the task at hand, he leapt into the water and let the flow carry him downstream towards the light spirit. The sheer speed and force of the water jostled him around quite a bit, and he was completely out of control. As he neared the spirit's spring, the flow of the water tossed him harshly against the steps, causing him to bang his head on the stone, rendering him unconscious.
Sometime later, his vision slowly came back to him. He lifted his head up and shook it slightly, shaking away the haziness. He looked to his right to see an agitated Midna hovering over him and chastising him for 'sleeping' for so long. He stood up on all fours and took a moment to regain his composure; he had a pounding headache but he found most human-like pains to be lessened while a beast.
When they proceeded into the spring of the spirit Lanayru, it told them that it was the last of the spirits to have been consumed by twilight. That's what Link held on to: this being the end - finally being done with this mess and being able to go home with Ilia and the children.
The spirit snapped him from his optimistic thoughts as it told him that he needed to gather the tears of light that were taken by the dark insects for a third time. He knew the routine by now and he assured himself that he would be able to complete this task faster than ever.
"Let's get this done so you can get back to your world of light, huh, hero?" she laughed.
They turned around and set out, eager to be done with this quickly. This was the last of the twilight, the last of this nonsense that he would see. After this, Ilia would no longer be a spirit, and he would no longer be a wolf. He could run back to Castle Town, help Ilia save the Zora prince so as to keep his promise to the late queen, gather Ilia and the children, and then they could all head back home and put all this twilight stuff behind them.
After all, once he rid the last of the twilight from Hyrule, that would also be the end of that so-called king of shadows, right?
Perhaps the light spirits had made more out of this situation than was necessary.
He hurriedly gathered all the tears of light from Lake Hylia with ease, quickly moving on to the river in which they had to summon another bird of twilight. He killed the insect in the upper region of Zora's river, and continued the spree into Zora's Domain, until finally he found the last one in Castle Town. But wait… there was one they must have overlooked in Lake Hylia…
When they returned, something was off. It had begun to storm, and in the distance, in the middle of the lake, they noticed large splashes and ripples of water, as if something was there that they couldn't see.
They advanced on that location, swimming for quite a few minutes in order to reach it. Link grabbed hold of a large, wooden plank floating in the water and pulled himself on top of it. As soon as he did so, it was as if whatever was menacing the surrounding waters noticed his presence and wasn't happy about it.
A large number of bubbles began rising to the surface until something suddenly leapt from the water with a large spark. When the wolf honed his senses, what he saw disgusted him. It was a grotesquely oversized bug, and he just knew it had to have the last tear that he sought.
Of course, the Goddesses couldn't make it easy on him, could they?
It charged him slowly at first, giving Link plenty of time to evade the attack and he responded with one of his own. He latched onto the insect's middle, biting it with all his might. The taste was revolting, but he held down the bile, the canine side of him helping with that part drastically. He watched the creature from above as it swam angrily beneath the surface, preparing its attack.
This time, it had been much faster, knocking the hero into the water as it sent electrical currents through his small frame. His body seized momentarily, but the shock was small and he was able to quickly scramble back onto the nearest floating board.
Link dodged the next oncoming attack and dove for the parasite a second time, gnawing away on its nauseating body. After taking the hit, the overgrown bug fell onto its back in the water, stunned. Link took this opportunity to jump onto its belly and he quickly began attacking the sickening pustules one at a time.
"Don't be an idiot!" Midna yelled, "That'll take all day and big ugly will be up again before you can finish! Let me guide you to each one and you just be ready to take them out with a bite! Got it?"
He took her advice and followed her steady hand to each weak point in turn as he jumped with much haste, sinking his teeth into the monster each time. After the last successful hit, the insect met its demise and gave up the final tear of light.
Link swam back to the spring as quickly as he could, excited to breathe the light world air through his human lungs again. As he regained his natural form, he sighed deeply in relief and stretched his arms up high above him. When the light spirit reclaimed its true self, it appeared as if it had the same feeling as the hero as it reared up high and then swam about its pool before greeting Link with a blinding light.
Lanayru introduced itself and proceeded to tell him that he, at last, revived each of the light spirits in Hyrule. However, Link's optimistic demeanor was shattered as he was still being spoken to about the dark power. He had thought that after ridding the twilight from the land, everything would be fine.
He had thought wrong.
The spirit told him that the last of the dark power he sought lay in a temple in the very depths of Lake Hylia, and just as he was about to turn around and head in that direction, Lanayru continued, but with words he did not expect.
"…But before seeking it, you must now bear witness to something… and never forget it. You must know that it was the will of the Goddesses that we lock away the forbidden power…"
A twinge of fear pulled at Link's mind, but he shrugged it off.
The light spirits had already plagued him with the fate of the world and all its inhabitants relying on him, the burden of being the hero chosen by the Goddesses, and by being told that he was the only one in the world that could ever hope to vanquish the king of shadows. He thought, what else could they possibly throw at me now? Whatever it was, it was sure to pale in comparison.
He had thought wrong again.
Link closed his eyes unwillingly, forced to witness scenes play out in his mind that felt all too real by the light spirit. He opened his eyes and found himself not in the garb worn by the hero of legend, but in his typical clothes he wore around Ordon to herd goats.
He felt like he was floating, but all around him was black nothingness. The world that surrounded him was void of anyone or anything. All he could hear was the voice of Lanayru. It was prominent and in the forefront of his mind, but it sounded dissonant and haunting.
When all was chaos, the Goddesses descended and gave order and life to the world.
He watched as three separate entities, one blue, one green, and one red, whirled by him in a flash of color.
They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to the heavens.
The beams of light then created a small plot of green earth, with miniscule life forms buzzing about it. There was nothing to it, and yet somehow… it felt like heaven. It felt untouchable and out of reach, but he wanted to be there… it looked so peaceful.
The lands where the Goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm.
When he looked to his left, he saw Ilia, smiling and happy to see him. It felt as if they were never apart, for he smiled back at her just like he would if they were back in the village. They both looked on at the beautiful plot of land before them, and what they witnessed then was the three illuminated colors combining into one and forming three golden triangles.
For ages, people lived at ease, content in mind and body…
There was a different air around them now… one of mistrust and betrayal. His smile dropped, as did Ilia's.
But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread through Hyrule, and a great battle ensued…
All he could think about was wanting that serene, grassy hill for himself… he wanted it for himself! No one could take it from him!
Ilia felt the same; he could feel it. As she raised a dagger to him, her eyes reflected that of her spirit – void of emotion or control due to an overwhelming power that neither of them could understand.
He couldn't let her have it.
Just as she went to kill him, he, instead, stabbed her. He wanted the Sacred Realm for himself… and by the Gods, he would get it.
He dropped his sword and ran for that tranquil, green earth, his eyes now showing the same emptiness and loss of control that Ilia had possessed moments ago. He ran and ran but he never got closer.
He wanted the Sacred Realm, he wanted the triangle… He was the hero and his tunic now reflected that. He should be able to have the powerful triangle… He should be able to have it… Why couldn't he have it!
Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared.
Three demons stood in his way, but… they looked like him. They looked exactly like him, only they were malevolent in body and mind and they had the tainted Fused Shadow behind them. That immense power drew him in.
It was a siren's song that beckoned him ever closer.
Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm.
The evil ones raised their arms in unison, ready to attack. It was in that instant that he felt fear, and he took back all those hateful feelings he had moments ago, but it was too late. He raised his arms to shield himself from their assault, but they got him nonetheless, casting him into millions of tiny pieces – into nothing more than a pile of dust.
Now he found himself standing among the evil ones, just as wicked as them, maybe even more so. They all laughed haughtily at their accomplishment; he had liked the feeling of destruction and of power.
It was then that the Goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene.
Him and the dark ones looked around confusedly as three glowing orbs appeared around them.
We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered.
All that power he had had in his grasp… the light spirits were taking it away! He was… angry… He was so angry!
All he could do was scream. And in the blink of an eye, the evil ones were gone… leaving that peaceful, green earth empty once again.
You know this magic…
The Fused Shadow… the dark power… it had made him feel unstoppable, powerful beyond all compare. He liked it…
It is the dark power you seek… the Fused Shadow.
The four pieces spun around his head in a blur. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to them, grab them, and take full advantage of what they had to offer.
O hero chosen by the Goddesses… Beware…
He saw Ilia falling… falling… falling… And she was laughing…
Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it.
That power… he had wanted it so badly and yet, it had driven him mad. No… he didn't want this anymore…
Never forget that…
Ilia just kept falling… and falling… had she gone mad too? He didn't want this… but the power… it consumed him… it felt invigorating…
Until the light spirit released him.
He was instantly brought back to the world, and everything he had just witnessed inside his mind hit him in a flurry. It immediately overwhelmed him… and he collapsed.
Never say it can't get any worse - it always can.