All Zelda could see was complete darkness. It enveloped her like a mother does her child, not like Zelda would know that feeling. It was overbearing, frightening but Zelda kept her composure. It was just a result of tapping into this newfound magic.

"Focus."

Her father's words from the beyond steeled her, and she began to focus on her search for the Triforce. She yearned for her magic to go out and find it, and for a moment, she could feel a power. So alluring, ancient yet modern, holy yet devilish. It began as a simple feeling, then it grew, and as the feeling grew, the darkness began to recede.

"Just focus."

There!

In the middle of emptiness, a singular glow managed to escape, Zelda willed herself towards it, wanting to embrace it to escape the darkness herself. As she came closer, she could make out its shape. Three triangles, two connected side by side, the third stacked on the latter pair, it was undeniable as to what the light was. It could be none other than the Triforce, the Golden Power of the Gods. Zelda, amazed by its beauty and glory, reached out for it, but as she did, it vanished. Gone as if it wasn't there.

"Reach out for it."

The girl groaned to herself and tried once more. But while she tried luring the Triforce back, three bright glows darted across the darkness. For a moment, the three lights aimlessly flew around. Then the first, a red light, flew towards the center of the darkness, and there, a world was created. It was lifeless, a huge spherical rock left by the red light. Zelda immediately knew what it meant.

Din, creator of the world.

Next, the green light made a turn and careened into the rocky mass. Hues of blue and green sprouted from the mass, signifying the rise of earth and water, and with it, life.

Farore, creator of life.

Finally, the blue light made way for the world but circled around it many times before leaving it behind along with the other two. Zelda could see the rise of humans above all sentient life, followed by the other sentient races. Kingdoms were born, laws established, justice reigned.

Nayru, creator of order.

The three lights meet above the world, and a golden light took away their colors. The one that was formerly red split off again, darting for the heavens. Zelda could only watch and listen as the first light departed. "The people shall desire strength, power shall be bestowed unto them. I create the Triforce of Power." As the light vanished, a solid triangle took its place. The first piece of the Triforce, Power.

Next was that of the former blue light. "I have established law and order, but it will take wisdom for it to prosper. I create the Triforce of Wisdom." Wisdom was birthed, and it joined its sister at the lower right vertex. Finally, the last light raced to the heavens, leaving the final triangle.

"To a world where fear can become rampant, I wish upon you courage. I create the Triforce of Courage." Courage found its spot adjacent to Wisdom and under Power, completing the Triforce. It glowed above the world, a beacon of the gods above the world of humans.

"The Triforce, our gift to our people. Be it that whoever represents a balance of courage, wisdom, and power shall inherit it, and have a wish brought upon the world, whether it is for good or evil. However, if the possessor is not balanced, he will possess a part of the Triforce, the one he represents the most. The other two will find like people who represent their traits. Once one brings them all together again, he will have his wish granted."

As the relic began to descend upon the world, a womanly figure came to being in the space between the Triforce. Her skin, beautiful and flawless as the finest ivory. Her hair, bright as the Triforce against the darkness. She donned a white flowing dress, pure as her creation. As Zelda caught a glance of her face, she had a feeling that she recognized it as her own. Silly, wasn't it?

"You, created between the crests, shall be the guardian of the world and of the Triforce. You are a goddess like we but shall live amongst creation. You'll be known as Hylia, little sister."

Hylia? Where had she heard that before… The Goddesses, Din if she remembered, called her Hylia. And her father said something as well. "The blood of Goddess Hylia runs through you." The Royal Family, her family, is said to be descendants of mortal Hylia and the Legendary Hero. Zelda now looked at Hylia deeply, and her suspicion of sharing a resemblance was not false. They did look alike, but Hylia was more mature in her age. Beautiful as well.

Zelda had just witnessed the birth of her lineage. Not many can say that.

The Triforce and Hylia descended upon the world, and for a brief moment, there was a peace. Zelda wondered why she was shown the creation of the world, the Triforce, and her line, but she had little time to answer as she had a quick change of scenery.

The world she had witnessed being created was now on the brink of destruction. Zelda gazed around, finding herself in a clearing of a large forest. Behind her, and around her, bodies of humans laid slain, but not without taking some monsters with them. The temple interested her, but it was not where her eyes took her. Instead, she looked down a spiraling pit, where at the bottom, a huge, demonic being fought against a Hylian man in a green tunic. Nearby, on her level, she could see her ancestor looking below, watching with a harp in hand. But her eyes were not on the battle. They were skyward, and Zelda followed.

She gasped as she saw a huge mass of land float towards the clouds. This began to jog her memory of the legends, the first one ever told. That mass was what will become Skyloft, and on it carried the remains of her people. Hylia's face was washed with tears, turning away from the sky to the palm of her hand. There, the warming glow of the Triforce hovered above it.

Hylia said not a word, but somehow Zelda heard her words. "To ensure that Demise never acquires the Triforce, it shall be that only man may possess the Triforce. May no god lay a hand on it unless he is of mortal birth." Hylia opened her eyes, nodding to herself, and threw the Triforce towards the island. Both ancestor and descendant turned their eyes to battle, where the demonic being-Demise, Zelda inferred-watched as the power of the gods vanished along with Skyloft. He roared in fury, then in pain as the warrior drove a huge spike through him. Hylia floated down to the warrior's side as Demise fell, slowly sinking into the ground, calling out Hylia and the warrior as he cried out vengeance.

He called the warrior Link… Link… That was the original Link. How did she not recognize the look of the Hero of Legend?

As Demise faded until the spike, Link raised his blade, staggering as he struggled to hold it up. Hylia rushed to him and helped him with the sword. As they swung it downward, a beam flew from it and struck the spike, implanting it in the ground. The hero fell, his strength wavering from his injuries, but the goddess held him, caressed him as if she was about to lose her love.

He was short of breath, but managed to speak, despite the pain of doing so. "Hylia… Is it over?"

The Goddess, tears still forming rivers, shook her head. "It...is only temporary."

"Then do you have a plan?"

"Yes...though it will be generations before it might commence. I...will assume a mortal form and use the Triforce to vanquish Demise once and for all. I...could have done it, I could have done it now, but the Triforce was never mine to use, only to protect. So I ensure it will be protected from him, from all gods. Only man can use it."

Link nodded, then shifted up to level his head with Hylia. "Then grant me one wish as well."

"What?"

"I...want to be there when Demise is done for. I want for us to have the childhood I had, the teenage years I had, and the adulthood I'll never get. But most of all, I want to live it all again with you, my dear Hy-"

Hylia shushed Link with her finger. "No…call me by the name I gave you when we first met. For when we meet again, that's who I'll be."

Link managed a smile as he brought a hand to Hylia's face. "Zelda…" Zelda gawked at the first use of her name, just as the scene changed. Everything began spiraling around her.

Demise had reappeared but was kneeling to Link-a teenage Link. A different Zelda, dressed as Hylia but clearly younger, was behind him, holding her harp. They were somewhere that was definitely not Hyrule, or whatever the land was now called. Demise breathed heavily as he pointed to the two before him. "Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero… They are internally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!"

There Demise faded, but in his place there stood a young Gerudo boy, no older than Zelda herself. He held a golden trident in his hand. Behind him, a slightly older look-alike stood, the difference is that the second figure was much taller and muscular. He also had a weird pointy nose. More beings appeared by the boy, all variations of a huge boar-man. Ganon.

"Ganondorf… Ganondorf… Ganondorf was born to a dark destiny, but he is not the true incarnation of evil. He who inhabits him, Ganon, is the pure embodiment of the ancient evil that is reborn time and time again…"

She turned to Link, and before him was her Link, surrounded by seven depictions of other Heroes, even her father.

"Link… Link… Link was thrown into his destiny as the Hero of Hyrule without his approval, but he has never denied the call. He is the pure embodiment of unbreakable courage called upon to save Hyrule in each calamity…"

And so to test herself, she turned around, and there were the other Princess Zeldas. Seven other girls who shared her name.

"Zelda… Zelda… Zelda accepted her role as protector of Hyrule, just as Link is the savior. She is the Goddess Hylia reincarnated age after age...The one who protects me."

Zelda looked above herself, seeing the Triforce hover between the current versions of the three people. Seeing that she was the only mobile one, she figured the voice in her head must be the Triforce. "Where are you?"

"Before I reveal that to you, know that the enemy you face is not Ganon. As long as your father's blood is not sacrificed, Ganon will not return."

"Then who is my enemy?"

The scene flashed again, this time to a ceremony gone wrong. A chest was open, and many evils began to race out of it. Before it, to Zelda's right, a long figure with a love for purple clothes stood before it, his purple hair hiding all but one lone red eye. To her left, a young boy, undeniably named Link, held out his shield to protect himself, while a princess stood right beside him, using some type of light magic to dispel the evil. The suspected opener of the chest faced the pair, chuckling to himself. "The princess with the mystic aura… The power that was gifted to the people of Hyrule still flows within the ladies of its royal family? Interesting…"

The world warped again, this time showing Link and Zelda standing before a sword within a pedestal. It was not the Master Sword, as she could see. The pair were looking up, Zelda joining and seeing a floating eyeball surrounded by a dark body.

"The king...not Ganon...It is he...called Vaati. In your world, he was known as Vatis, King of Hyrule. Once he won the election, he set the plan that will shape Hyrule into what it is now."

Zelda found herself in a temple, walls and flooring made of smooth marble. She didn't see the Triforce anymore, but she felt its power behind huge marble doors at the end of the chamber. Before it was a pedestal with three indentures, fitted for something like the Pendants of Virtue to fall in perfectly. That meant…this was the 'timeless temple.' Looking to the hidden Triforce, Zelda pleaded, "Tell me where you are."

"I am sentient, but I do not distinguish between good and evil. If I reveal myself to one side, the other shall know eventually. Even just a hint of my existence will be enough."

Zelda bit her lip. Even a hint would eventually reveal the Triforce's location to the king. That's if he didn't know it anyway. But Zelda couldn't delay any longer. "As the descendant of Hylia, protector of creation and the Triforce, I ask that you reveal yourself to me."

"It shall be done. The Pendants are the keys to the Doors of Time, locked behind behind themis the Triforce. But at their current state, they are not prepared. The holders and the pendant must go through a trial within the palaces of North Hyrule. Courage, to the great one. Power, to the home of Ganon. Wisdom, to the dirty lands under the crown. When each trial is completed, the pendants will be ready to go to the temple within the city between all three palaces."

Zelda repeated each location to herself, then nodded at the door. "Thank you."

The team was reassembled as soon as Zelda woke from her long vision, and she explained all that she saw. Shade had pulled out a map of North Hyrule, while everyone else surrounded the table. Zelda stood beside her father, repeating what the Triforce told her.

"'Courage, to the great one.'"

Shade sighed heavily, looking to Link as he placed a marker on a mountianous region on the eastern side of North Hyrule. "Boy, I hope you have it easier than me."

"Why?"

"You're going to the Great Palace." Link still had no idea what Shade meant by his warning, which the former Hero could see. "Ah, you'll figure it out. Next?"

"'Wisdom, to the dirty lands under the crown." Shade immediately placed a marker on the map, in the swamp lands by the castle. Zelda looked at him. "How did you guess that"

"Crown equals castle. 'Dirty lands' must be the swamps of Midoro. You're going to Midoro Palace. Have fun. Next."

"'Power, to the home of Ganon.'"

Ralph sighed. "And the one who could tell us where that could be is not here."

"Ahem." The call of attention snapped everyone's gaze to the door, where there floated the transformed Midna Twilight. She had her arms crossed as she floating into the room, situating herself between Ravio and Hilda.

Those two were estatic to see their friend up and...floating. "Middie, you're...flying."

"Yeah...flying."

Midna hugged Hilda as best she could and softly slugged Ravio on his elbow. "Of course I am. I would be cool if I did it with my own body."

Ralph, between the original members of Midna's group, was least receptive of her. "Gan is gone, but his queen still remains. Hip hip hooray."

Midna winked at the Prince of Labrynna, setting him off. "Miss you too, Ralphy-poo."

Shade, as much as he hated to break the reunion, interrupted. "Midna, welcome back, but you said you know where the 'home of Ganon' is?"

Midna nodded. "Of course, anyone who knows Ganon will know he was once a man of the desert.

Shade nodded. "There's only one palace in the desert… Parapa." He placed the marker there. "Now the bigger problem with this part… Ganondorf."

Ravio shrugged. "If he is even alive."

Shade frowned. "Oh, he's alive. I can feel the beast within him. But communicating with him might be tough. We have no idea where in the world is he."

Midna bit her lip. "Not even with the Gossip Stone?"

Hilda lowered her face. She knew how close Ganondorf and Midna were, and despite what happened to him at Spectacle Rock, he proved that he was still on their side. "Believe me, Midna, Ravio and I have tried many times. If he is alive, he is in the dark."

Shade hummed to himself. "There could be a way, but only if you and Ganondorf are as close as you say. Telepathic communication is possible, but only those who are truly close to one another can accomplish it."

Hilda nodded. "I can do it with Ravio, especially when he acts likes a baby in his sleep."

"Thank you Hilda."

Zelda pitched in. "I'm sure Link and I can do it. Our previous incarnations have, and given our history, we're as close as we can get."

Midna pondered on it for a moment, then smiled. "When we were in Imperial hands, although we never communicated, I could feel Ganondorf's thoughts when I...was tortured by Zant. I believe I felt him prodding through mine, whatever that feels like. Could that be it?"

Shade nodded. "That's part of it, though a special case. You can try talking to him, if you can. As for the rest of you, tomorrow, you set off for North Hyrule. Discuss how you will venture to the two palaces amongst yourselves. From the moment you leave, you're on your own. Midna, I'm including you." The seven nodded, and Shade smiled at them all.

"We're counting on all of you. May the Goddesses be with you."