Hey there! I hope you're enjoying my story so far!

Lately I have tended to make my chapters longer, which always takes me a little more time. Do you prefer more frequent updates with less content, or bigger chapters but more days waiting time? Or is both alright?

Let's see if the follow-notifications are fixed by now, shall we?

Chapter 24

Zelda

Zelda's head was still all fuzzy and bubbling with emotion. There were no words, no words in any language that could accurately describe the pure, simple yet profound comfort she had felt when Link had wrapped his arms around her.

She was able to feel his apprehension, his fear that she might reject this advance in the careful gentleness of his movement. Nothing could have been further from the truth. She had meant to tell him, encourage him, but sensed that he understood without a word. Without even a thought she had snuggled into his strong, caring arms, enjoying the attention enormously. Not only the attention, naturally… he seemed to understand her so effortlessly, so completely… she felt so strengthened, supported, but also needed. This embrace, this simple, wonderful gesture carried such a strong notion of protection and emotional aid… he gave it freely… maybe even lovingly… But it was also a sign of his search for stability, his admission of his need, his questing for the warmth of a guiding light. His hug, so strong and warmly protective, also looked for a place to hold on to, a place that could help carry the weight. Zelda could not put into words the feelings that arose when she realized that he had chosen her to be his support, when she, mostly unconsciously, had already chosen him to be hers.

She could feel his heart beat when he held her. It was filled with such a captivating calm that, for just these all too few seconds, she had felt completely at peace. She could feel his relaxed breath against her head where his cheek touched it. His reassuring weight against her gentled her thoughts until they were almost completely still.

Zelda wished that moment could last forever, lost in the marvellous serenity of his embrace…

She did not want to say goodbye, not today. She watched his back as he slowly walked away, fighting with herself not to call him back. The inners struggle got so gut-wrenching that she had to dig her nails painfully into the palms of her hands to keep silent. She wanted nothing more than to ask him to come with her, to lend her some of his strength when she had to go into an unknown that frightened her. She knew he would have, without a moment's hesitation. But that was the problem…

If they were correct and he too had a part to play in this new, cataclysmic drama that was unfolding, she might have to ask more of him than anyone had any right to. She might have to rip him out of his comfortable, innocent life… No, worse! She might cause him to rip himself out of his life, only to aid her!

She could not, in good conscience, drag him down this perilous road that she, apparently, had to take. Not until she was certain! Link would do anything to help her. The knowledge gave her a fierce but sad determination. She too had to do her best to protect him. As a princess, yes… but, by now, also as so much more…

So, she would not involve him if she could help it. Anything else would only be selfish. He deserved better. If that meant that she had to weather this unknown danger all by herself, she was prepared to do it, no matter how much the sheer thought chilled her to the bone.

She had to. It was her duty.

Before he passed the corner he turned one last time to look back. Zelda dug her nails deeper into her flesh and bit her lip.

Leave, you idiot, or my resolve will crumble to dust!

Then he was gone.

Zelda felt both relieved and dejected. Even though it was a warm summer's eve she suddenly felt shivery. Hoping that it was just the tension making itself felt, she hugged herself for warmth. The feeling conjured up the still fresh memory of him holding her close. Even though she was now alone, the notion gave her a bit of the same comfort she had felt out on the steppe. She could almost still feel his gentle strength touching her, wrapping her in a protective cocoon. She looked to the side and, almost clandestinely, smelled at the cloth covering her shoulder. A sheepish smile crept onto her face. Her garb still smelled of him…

It gave her courage. Maybe just enough to withstand any terror the night could throw at her.

Blushing slightly, she decided that a change of clothes had now been officially cancelled. Like this, he would at least be with her in spirit…

The last hour before she was to meet her father and Impa felt like an eternity. She tried to read, but she couldn't make sense of the sentences. She paced around aimlessly until she forced herself to stop that nonsense. She undid her hair, then decided to braid it again, as it would be easier to control. And protect… Idiot, she scolded dismissively… shaking her head at herself, Zelda wondered how she could think of something as unimportant as her hair at a time like this… Then again, whatever this Threat was, for now it was so incomprehensible, so abstract… maybe her brain unconsciously searched for something identifiable, something it knew how to be afraid of. And threat to long, lovingly tended hair? Very real and veeeerrrrry scary!

Zelda had to giggle at her foolish thoughts. Sally would have a field day, if she knew what was going through her mind. "Aw, poor brainless bimbo Zelda, somefing touched hew haiw… how dweadfuww!" Oh how much she wanted Sally to be here right now, teasing her with her endless sarcasm. But she was still out, lucky her…

When finally the time was right to go to the map room, she actually felt eager to meet whatever was lurking in the unknown, just to finally get it over with.

She arrived at the chamber five minutes early. Her father's generals and close advisors were in the process of leaving. They all looked exhausted and tense. Most likely they had spent the entire day organizing. Zelda couldn't even begin to list all the important steps that involved assembling an army of tens of thousands… send orders to all the cities and towns where garrisons were stationed. Dispatch heralds to travel from village to village, relaying the orders to members of the militia and conscripting new able-bodied men and women. Procure food and provisions for thousands of hungry mouths. Fire up the smithies nationwide to ensure an uninterrupted supply of weapons, arrows and armour.

Those were only the immediately obvious factors… Zelda's head spun at the seemingly insurmountable task. She decided that she would ask the general staff to teach her the most pressing points. Even if that meant stealing their valuable time, she couldn't allow herself to not know these things… one day, she'd have to give the orders. And by Din's fire, she would not be some dainty, worthless puppet of a queen, completely dependent on her advisors!

When the men and women had all poured out, she entered the room. She saw her father sit in his chair, reclined, his hand covering his eyes. He probably hadn't gotten a second of sleep. Zelda did feel admiration for his diligence about his duty… but she couldn't help feel the anger at him return to a low simmer.

Good, actually… if he tried to once again keep her from knowledge, she would be ready.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, not looking up.

He sounded so tired, but also afraid… Zelda felt her determination waver for a second upon hearing his utterly defeated voice. But she would not falter.

"I am." She simply said.

She felt a cold, but by now familiar shiver down her spine.

"You can come out." she ordered with more certainty than she actually felt.

"Your ability to sense my presence amazes me, my princess." Impa said softly.

The king looked up, startled, but he refrained from saying anything. His frown was tired and resigned.

"Well, we are all here. What are we waiting for?" Zelda asked impatiently.

"A minute, my princess. Let the generals disperse to their quarters so we will be undisturbed. In the meantime, let me assure you that you need not expect any harm where we are going. There is nothing immediately dangerous under the castle." Impa explained.

'Under the castle', Zelda thought surprised. So close?

"The knowledge that it is my duty to impart, however, will hold a certain peril. As I have hinted at during our first meeting, the agents of the Threat have systematically hunted down all knowing ones over the centuries. Even us, the Shiekah. When once, a thousand years ago, my people numbered in the hundreds, there are but a few dozens left. They have ground at us like a millstone for centuries and have all but destroyed all knowledge of their goals and of the foul deity they revere. Knowing what I am about to impart will put you in danger too." she finished, regret clearly in her voice.

Zelda nodded grimly.

"There is… another matter." Impa said, suddenly looking unsure how to continue.

"This knowledge is not easy. I fear it will put you under considerable stress… I had hoped so much that you would be spared this until later. I would have preferred to tell you all this when you have become a woman grown. But we no longer have a choice, I'm afraid. The Threat's agents have never acted out in the open, not before their attempt at your life. I firmly believe that their sudden boldness is telling that their lord's resurgence is at hand…"

Zelda's jaw tensed. She knew that the Shiekah's words were born out of concern, but they still stung her pride.

"I am no child, Impa. I will do what I have to and learn what I need to accomplish it." she said proudly.

The old woman gave a knowing, sad smile. "I know this, your majesty. I have no doubt. It only pains my heart that you could not have had more years without this burden…" The sadness in her voice made Zelda's stomach turn cold. The woman spoke as if she was going to her death…

Her father, silent until now, stirred. "I advise you to take anything the Shiekah says with a grain of salt. As she has admitted, even her knowledge is woefully incomplete… But whatever happens, know that I will help you in any way I can, my daughter…" he said quietly, as if speaking these words took considerable effort.

Zelda raised her eyebrow at him. 'Yes, father? Where was your help when I was under attack? Where was your help when I asked for information?' She didn't say it. That would just be petty. But she could sense that the expression on her face was enough for him to understand her smouldering ire. She knew he meant his words and that he would never abandon her… but she would not let him forget so easily how utterly rejected she had felt for weeks due to his cold turning away.

"Noted." she let him know, coolly.

To Impa she said "I understand your concern, but as you say, there is no longer a choice. I will not falter before my duty." She tried to put as much fortitude into her voice as she could, while hoping that her quickened heart-rate remained inaudible. She was so nervous, she felt her pulse racing in her throat and her vision seemed shaky. But her determination was strong. Strong arms around her shoulders…

Impa nodded, still with that profound sadness on her face, visible even under her hood. "Very well. Then we should leave. I will follow you, hidden until we have reached the entrance to the temple."

Zelda turned towards her father, who looked back at her with so much sorrow that she felt a wave of cold running down her entire body. He slowly stood and walked towards the door, almost as if hoping that if he wasted enough time, Zelda would rethink her decision.

"Where are we going?" she asked, not wanting to be led like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Gardens…" he said almost inaudibly. He cleared his throat, then continued in a stronger voice. "To the gardens. The old part."

Zelda stared at him, wide eyed. "The part behind the gate?" she questioned.

He nodded and gazed at her, wondering why she seemed so surprised.

She said nothing but just looked straight ahead. Her place? Whatever terrorized their thoughts was hidden at her island of peace?

This knowledge alone bothered her more than she wanted to admit. Of all places in the whole world, why did it have to be my only refuge? Why did she have to lose this place too?

'Our place' she corrected herself. The tiny forest where they first kissed, where they had their delightfully stupid mud-battle… the fountain where she had felt so close to another hylian being like never before… Why, by Farore's mercy, did all this have to be profaned?

Tears filled her eyes while they walked. She shut them and bit her lip. It pained her so much she wanted to scream!

Strong arms around her… his scent on her clothes…

Zelda relaxed slightly, the momentary panic slowly abating. Maybe she no longer needed it so dearly… Maybe she had found a new… 'place' where she could be herself…

She wiped away the last remnants of her tears and hoped her father hadn't noticed her lapse of composure. 'Then again, even if he noticed now, he probably wouldn't know what to do anyway...' she thought bitterly.

They had passed through the nightly gardens, the light of a torch her father carried the only light. Not even the moon wanted to show her face, as if hiding in fear.

They reached the rickety gate. Zelda cradled the key she always had with her, but didn't present it. Neither did she help her father push it open by placing that well practiced kick in the corner. She still hoped that some of the serenity of this location would be spared, that she could still come here to feel the touch of freedom when all this was over. For that reason she showed no sign of knowing this place. Her father would surely – try to – forbid her from coming here again…

Tonight the lush, wild forest seemed decidedly less friendly… The pants' shadows created by the torch reminded her all too vividly of the dark tendrils and claws that had ravaged her camp on the north road. Zelda knew it was just her imagination, born from tension and fear.

"Do you despise me?" her father asked, startling her.

Zelda could tell he tried to make his voice sound calm and collected. He didn't succeed. She also thought heavily on how to answer.

"I am angry with you. And disappointed." she replied finally, trying to sound calm as well.

To her surprise he chuckled lowly. "Forgive me. If only you knew how often your mother used the exact same words…"

Zelda didn't know how to answer. This was not the time, nor the place for a heart to heart. "Then believe me when I say that I have reason to feel this way." she said through gritted teeth.

He nodded. "I know you do. But I convinced myself that bearing your hate for me was a small price to pay to see you safe and happy." he explained sorrowfully.

She tensed her jaw. Now you feel like talking! When everything has already been decided! By me!

"I do not hate you. But how can you possibly assume that I would be happy, being kept at arms length by you?" she had not meant to say the last sentence, but it just poured out of her. She felt all her displeasure that she had tried to keep bottled up for today suddenly burst forth as if she had opened a vent.

"How can you deliberately keep me uninformed when you knew – you knew – that these attacks had me as target? How can you try to hide whatever Impa is trying to show me when it is clear that I need to know? How can you distance yourself like that at a time when I needed you most?!" she hissed, gritting her teeth so her eyes would stop turning wet. "How could you?!" she spat, her voice starting to tremble. They had stopped and he looked at her wide-eyed. He seemed so unsure what to do, lost in powerless grief. But his inaction only fanned the flames of her anger. "Say something!" she yelled, hot tears now running down her cheeks.

All of her anger, her fear, her disappointment had erupted and was now aimed at him. She knew it wasn't entirely fair, but when was the last time she had been treated fairly?

"Everything you said is true. I do not know how I could do all this. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. I thought it might still be coincidence and that it was too early to burden you. I did not know how much pain it would cause you…" he answered meekly.

Zelda, in her rage, would have preferred if he had yelled back so she too could raise her voice even more, letting all her ire descend upon him. With him so meek she felt her fury lacked fuel to continue. She huffed indignantly. Link's therapeutic session suddenly sprang to mind. "Then fucking learn!" she spat, turned and continued through the dense undergrowth.

'Goddess, it felt good to have that out of my system!' Zelda thought, wiping her cheeks, angry at herself for crying so easily. She knew she'd feel sorry for this outburst tomorrow, but today she decided to enjoy all the relief she could possibly get. And maybe, just maybe, her father would actually understand.

As Zelda had feared, he had taken them to the fountain. Wistfully she looked at the proud, generous goddess on the plinth. What have you been hiding from me all this time, Nayru?

The king stepped up to the statue. "Hold this, please." he muttered, extending the torch. When she had taken it, he stepped onto the rim of the basin, stretched and reached up to touch the goddess' hand. After a brief search, splashing in the water that kept pouring from her open palm, Zelda suddenly heard a loud 'click'. To her surprise the waterfalls stopped and the basin drained quickly. The king moved to the statue's other side and repeated the process. Another 'click', followed by a deep grinding noise, like stone on stone.

To her amazement half the basin's floor started to move, revealing a deep dark shaft. When the stone had completely moved away, Zelda could see a winding stone staircase leading downwards. Staring down into the dark, she felt her stomach cramp. Right under her nose the entire time…

Her father took the torch back and, his face contorted in sorrow, carefully walked downwards on the wet stone. Zelda swallowed once, took a deep breath and followed suit.

After only a few steps it was as if the darkness had swallowed them whole. The flickering torchlight was hardly adequate to show anything and both of them more felt their way downwards than actually saw it. It seemed like an eternity of careful climbing before the ground levelled out.

Zelda looked around. She could barely make out the walls of the chamber they stood in. Smooth, high, wet… "A cistern?" she asked.

"Correct, my princess." Impa said softly, but still managed to startle her so much she actually jumped away. Zelda suddenly noticed that from the moment they had left the map room she hadn't thought of the Shiekah at all. It was as if, from one second to the other, she had completely forgotten about her. Normally she would have looked clandestinely for her, tried to sense her presence… but she hadn't even thought of trying that! This was more than just clever hiding and stalking…

"How do you do this?" Zelda wanted to know. Partly because it frightened her, partly because she thought that the ability to make everyone around forget she existed seemed very enticing.

The old woman started to speak, stopped to think, then finally said: "A talent of the Shiekah, my princess. One that I have mastered. For most of the trek through the garden I simply walked behind you. From most people I do not even have to hide…" Mysterious and fascinating! Maybe the old woman could teach her? First things first, though…

"Where are we?" she asked while walking across the cistern and into a carved entryway.

Her father cleared his throat. "If my research is correct, we are in the cellars of the castle that stood on this hill more than 2000 years ago. This cistern is even older. So little is left of the records from that time…"

An image formed before her eyes… but it was very faint… a castle on a hill amidst a city. Clearly Hyrule city, but the stronghold looked completely different. Suddenly the image darkened and she saw the city at night. The entire scene was illuminated by an enormous fire that seemed to consume the hill wholly. Then it was over.

Zelda reached up to rub her temple. She had the grim anticipation that this wouldn't be the only vision of this night.

The three walked along a stone corridor. Time did not seem to have much effect here… The stone plates on the floor were still whole, there were no cracks in walls or ceiling, not even dust had settled in…

She couldn't abide the silence, it made her skin crawl. "So tell me, then! What is expecting me down here? Start imparting this dangerous knowledge already!" she ordered impatiently. Zelda tried to make fun of it a little, mostly to calm her own nerves. It wasn't working. In addition to the slight trembling for being nervous, she also started to shiver from the dank cold in this place.

"Very well. More than two millennia ago your ancestors were engaged in a fierce battle. Not a battle for lands or glory, but for life itself. It is said that the world was only moments away from sinking into eternal darkness. The texts we still have only talk of 'the Calamity' or 'the Ancient Evil' or 'the Threat'. Whatever it is, it had swept the land into a maelstrom of tyranny and death. According to the information I could gather the Threat wields godlike power and has a single-minded lust for domination." Impa explained.

Darkness… a darkness so dense that no light could escape. From a formless miasma it consolidated to the shape of a beast… no, a man… no, it couldn't be a man! All that it touched was engulfed in flame, all that met its gaze withered and crumbled, all that stood in its way perished in unspeakable agony.

It embodied evil so primal it seemed older than the goddesses. It was always shifting, sometimes wreathed in dark, red flame, sometimes it seemed akin to a giant, tusked beast that poisoned the air with smoke and ash. It was always moving, looking for new land to ravage, new cities to raze, new people to enslave. It was always hungry, for power, for suffering, for death.

Zelda saw it so close as if she could touch it. The sheer sight of it made her breath falter. The unspeakable evil lust she felt it radiate filled her with so much fear she felt her heart race until it felt like it might burst.

Suddenly the thing turned its head and grinned at her! With a deathly frightened scream Zelda recoiled and stumbled right into Impa. She swatted panicky in front of her eyes, trying frantically to wipe the image away but it had already ended. She sat there, on the moist stone, her breath fast and flat, trembling on her whole body like dry leaves in a storm. She could hear both Impa and her father try to talk to her, but her panic filled mind could make no sense of their words.

It had reacted to her! It had seen her! How was that even possible?!

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. It was a vision. It was just a vision! She repeated it over and over in her mind until slowly the panic subsided. Only now she realized that her father was kneeling beside her, holding her close and slowly stroking her head. When normally she would have felt really awkward, she now felt immensely thankful for it. She gripped his arms, buried her face in his chest and started to sob. Zelda hated herself for this display of weakness, but she had better chance to change the course of the sun than to hold back her weeping. All her talk how she was ready, how she wasn't a child and now this! She wasn't ready… she couldn't have been ready… whatever this… monstrosity was it defied logic, it defied explanation. It was pure chaos… and even through a vision its terror had hit her right in the soul.

When her sobbing finally ebbed, she took a deep, quavering breath. "Forgive me! I feel like a complete fool." she apologized weakly. Her father gently shushed her. "Don't, Zelda my love. I feared this place would cause this. Did you have a vision?" he asked.

She nodded. "I saw…" she breathed heavily "… him!"

The image was seared into her mind, these hungry eyes, this vicious grin. She had felt the heat of his hellish flames char her skin and had felt her sanity fail at the madness in his sinister gaze.

"But if those heroes of old have defeated him in the end, what is now threatening us?" Zelda asked, needing something to take her mind off the image haunting her.

"I know not how it is that we have to face the same trial as our forefathers and mothers. The only information I could garner hinted at a cyclical reappearance. I am sorry, but I can only speculate…"

"So we don't even know whether it can be stopped?" Zelda asked, incredulous.

Impa started to say something, then sighed. "We do not." she admitted.

Zelda felt her fear turn into anger. "Then what are we, am I, supposed to do? Wait until its re-emergence, then banish it again so in another couple thousand years the next poor princess can deal with the problem? This is no solution!" she exclaimed.

Her father spoke up, slowly releasing her as she has calmed down. "We do not know what has transpired during the last… cycle. Possibly they knew a chance to end it once and for all. Maybe the were unable to accomplish it and settled for the next best thing, biding for time. The simple fact is we know nothing. That is why, regrettable, you have to be here…to hopefully find out something… for once." he added with a nasty look at the Shiekah.

Zelda nodded. She slowly stood up, hugging herself. She closed her eyes. The steppe, sun, Link holding her in a tight embrace… she inhaled deeply. A little bit of his scent was still there… Why had she sent him away?

Still, once again the memory and the feeling of safety it conjured mended her cracked determination.

She swallowed, then nodded again. "I am ready to proceed."

"We can continue at a later date…" her father suggested, purely so he'd said it.

"No we can not. We continue." Zelda said firmly.

Impa nodded at her with a motherly, proud smile.

Zelda felt profound embarrassment, but decided not to let it get to her. She had seen the Threat and now knew for a fact that both Impa's and her father's worries were justified. The utter horror it had caused in her with a single, split-second glance had almost been enough to send her tumbling down the endless slope of madness. She had felt it claw at her sanity, wanting to drown her in its chaos. Never, ever, had she even thought it possible to feel so much abject fear. But she had not given in! From that fear slowly arose an iron resolution. If at all she could, she would prevent that anybody else would have to feel such terror. She had seen it and, more than anybody else, had gained the profound understanding that it needed to be stopped.

Yes, she had faltered. But then her resolve had been reforged, clearer and sharper.

They continued on their way. They walked through different rooms with no apparent purpose. Impa had called this place a 'temple'. It was too dark to really see anything… At times Zelda thought she could see mural paintings on walls or ceiling, but could grasp their meaning. Occasionally a path branched off into another direction. Her father explained that they were no longer leading anywhere as most of them had collapsed and whatever they had lead to probably no longer existed. As they trudged along, Zelda noticed that one thing was still a mystery. "So, what is down here? You spoke of a sword, I believe?" she asked, once again trying to break the silence.

"Yes. We are almost there. This place used to be a temple, though I am unsure what it was devoted to. Most logical would be the sword itself… here we are!" Impa said with an edge of finality in her voice.

The path had led them to a huge, round, domed hall. The floor seemed to be white marble, from what Zelda could see. Towards the middle of the large chamber a few steps seemed to lead upwards onto another stone platform. Zelda was certain it was the same hall she had seen in her visions…

"I have seen this place… a sword, jutting from the stone in the middle…" she said, her thoughts far off.

Impa nodded. "Of one thing, amidst all this doubt, I am sure. The sword is the weapon that was used to combat evil. There is not one text from that time that doesn't mention it."

Zelda slowly stepped closer, as if drawn to it by invisible strings. She could not even see it yet in all this darkness, but somehow she was aware of it. It was almost as if a strong presence was residing with them in this room. It beckoned her…

She ascended the handful of steps. She noticed that the inner platform had the Triforce symbol made of black stone in white marble. She mostly knew the symbol from her family's coat of arms. Apparently, in more pious times, the symbol had represented the three goddesses and had been depicted everywhere. Occasionally you could see it carved into the older parts of the stronghold and, of course, the temple devoted to the Three had an enormous gold one looming over everybody.

Now Zelda could see it. The blade stuck in a pedestal in the exact middle of the symbol, it protruded about half a metre from the floor. She saw a dark blue crossguard with a dull yellow stone inlet. The hilt wrapping seemed to have withered away, only a few vaguely golden threads were left. A pommel in the same dark blue finished the weapon. It seemed so… ordinary to the eye. It was no magically shining blade, dispelling the darkness around it. As in her vision there was rust beginning to gnaw at it.

But yet… Zelda felt an… intelligence to the blade… and the slow pulse of dormant power. A steady susurrus told of this weapon's ancient accomplishments. It spoke to her of the sword's immense age, older, it seemed, than time itself.

As if in a trance, she reached for it. The closer she got, the clearer she felt its character… for all its magnificent power it was… gentle… Zelda had felt this gentleness before…

Her fingers slowly wrapped around the hilt. Some of its dormancy seemed to abate… she was almost sure she could feel it vibrating. She didn't even think about trying to pull it out of the stone… it wasn't hers! The sword tolerated her, but it would not follow her. It already had a master.

"Who?" she asked simply.

The sheer force of the images hit her like lightning. Her hand cramped around the sword-handle and she couldn't have released it even if she wanted. She stood among burning ruins, feeling the heat on her skin, choking on the bone dry, ashen air. The skies were black as pitch, only occasionally a bolt of pure energy cut through the gloom and lighted the scene in harsh, unforgiving light. Zelda looked around frantically. Panic once again threatened to grip her as the flames seemed to draw ever closer. What hellish place was this?!

Suddenly she saw something she recognized. A stone basin with a plinth… a few metres away lay a carelessly broken off statue of the goddess Nayru…

With sudden, dreadful realization Zelda knew where she was…

Hyrule!

Then she felt something approaching. Her breath caught in her throat and her entire body started to tremble.

She looked up, her eyes wide in sheer terror. Above the flaming debris, floating like an angel of doom was It. Zelda could feel its leering grin of anticipation, rather than see it. It was waiting…

A sound made her whip around. She gasped, unable to believe her eyes. A man lay a few metres away. She could see multiple, dreadful wounds on his body

'Link?' she whispered, lost in abject horror… no… he was different. A young man, but older than him… she could see him clearer now. She saw that he was battered, but not beaten. The light in his eyes was not yet gone. Gritting his teeth he stood up. Zelda could see how painful it must be for him. His right arm was clearly broken. Large parts of his tunic were gone, seared away by merciless flames…

Their faces were so alike… His features, now contorted with pain, were so uncannily similar… it bit at her soul to see this man so hurt… but with every second Zelda grew more certain that it wasn't him.

Still… cyclical reappearance…

The young man suddenly looked at her and his face grew hateful. No… he wasn't looking at her, but at her feet!

Zelda looked down… and saw herself! She was lying unconsciously on the ground, also hurt, dirty and burned but breathing. She was older too and her features were ever so slightly different…

Cyclical reappearance… why would only evil return and not the fighters for good?

The young man bent down, gritting his teeth. Zelda was not surprised to see what he had picked up… a blade with a dark blue handle. But this one shimmered in mighty, righteous light.

The youth reset his gaze on his enemy and with one last deep breath he threw himself back into battle.

The vision ended and Zelda was snapped back into reality so hard she collapsed. Her father and Impa were immediately upon her, fearing another panic attack. This time though, she felt almost calm. The images… no, the past she had witnessed had been terrifying, true. However, they had granted her a lot of understanding and it fanned the flames of her resolve. Not only this personified evil would be reborn. She, too, had had a kind of resurgence. And she was not alone…

Both indescribable relief and immense sorrow flooded her soul, threatening to tear it apart. She would not be alone in this fight. She had already found her most powerful ally and he had found her. But he too would have to go through this suffering. He too would have to combat this Threat. His life of innocence would end.

She was unable to decide between the two emotions that wrestled within her…

When she opened her eyes she looked deeply into the concerned stares of her father and Impa.

"It is him. He is the one. I must bring him here to meet his fate."