To be honest, I didn't expect the first chapter to have already such a reception, especially since it has a few mistakes which I hopefully mostly fixed. Does anyone who makes a story read one? I try to but it doesn't exactly interest me, the writer. But regardless, here's second chapter. But really, thanks for a strong welcome.

So I pretty much recaped the 1st episode of the anime but now there will be some divergence from Naofumi's choices with Link. Though expect many things from past episodes to be present. Just not yet.

Ch.2 A Hero's Legend

As Link lifted the sheet off the cage, he could see the little girl look down at her cell. It took a few seconds for her to look up at the Hylian before gasping in surprise. She braced herself for a blow to come to her. He noted the fear in her appearance along with her raccoon ears and tail.

"This one, eh?" the man asked with a puzzled look. With a earnest grunt, Link kneeled down before rolling a apple to her. Her eyes spied the red tasty fruit bowling to her. She looked at Link with hesitance of this being a trick. A few seconds later, she slowly moved her hand to the apple and grabbed it.

"Hmm...very well, Link. I can give her for a measly twenty silver. She has a mental disorder and is sick. Her previous owner didn't take good care of her." The Hylian turned his interest back to the plump slaveowner in front of him wearing a smile. "You don't look like the kind of guy to hurt a young girl. So are you going to take her?"

Without a moment's hesitation, the two with the half-raccoon girl in tow went to finish the deal. The young girl, at that moment, quietly ate the apple as Link had took out the proper amount of coins. He would definitely feed her with his own cooking but there was another matter to attend to. Speaking of...Beloukas, as the slave owner next to him said to call him, was starting to mix a few powders together to create a white mixture.

"Alright, that should do it. Are you sure that you want to remove her crest, shield hero? She can run away once you do not pay any attention to her." Beloukas questioned as he grabbed a paintbrush and the mixture.

Of course! If Link was going to have a partner it would be on their terms and not his own. Link nodded vigorously towards the man. Beloukas made his way to the raccoon girl causing her to freeze in place in hopes that he won't hurt her.

Tugging on her tattered cloak to reveal the top of her chest, he removed the purple crest from her body. A purple mist dissipated in the air but revealed no pain to her body. The plump man stepped a few feet away from soon after. "Okay, it is done. Nobody who has come to me requested for a slave's crest to be removed, so I wonder how she will react."

Link slowly approached the raccoon girl who was confused at the crest's removal when she saw the Hylian come close. He stopped when he noticed that she was starting to scuttle from him.

"What's your name?" the hero asked bending down to speak to the girl who refused to say anything to him. Seems like this will be harder than he thought...

"Mine's Link, a Hylian." As he said this, his ears fluttered. That had caught her interest as she looked at his ears before coughing violently in the floor. Frowning, Link grabbed a bottle of milk from his bag before passing it to her. Slowly drinking the fresh beverage, she started to speak nervously.

"Thank you...My name is Raphtalia."

"Raphtalia..." Link repeated to himself. That was certainly a very unique name for anybody to have. With a encouraging look, Link extended his hand to her to grab. "You are free if you want to leave."

"Huh? Free?" Raphtalia asked with a confused look. She was no longer cowering in front of him. The Hylian only nodded without adding anything else. Her eyes grew hopeful as she looked besides him outside the tent to see the early morning sun.

"Of course, you can stay at my side if you want. You are not my slave." Link reassured.

Once he had said this, her eyes twinkled with joy. But in the back of her mind, she felt as if this was all a big trick. The cruelty of her previous caretaker had taken upon her shown that not much in this world which was fair...especially for a demi-human.

But wasn't Link a demi-human just like her? Just looking at his strange ears gave her a warm feeling in her heart. How strange and strangely nostalgic. A nostalgia that made her feel as she could not miss his offer. An offer of a hero. Wait, what was she thinking?

With a shaking hand, she grasped Link's. Now standing up, he took her gently to outside the tent. Giving a firm nod to reassure Beloukas that he would return, they went outside into the gentle sun.

Looking towards the girl, he noticed that she started to shudder from the cold outside. He pointed towards one of the outer walls of the gates to her. She grew confused at this gesture before he led her to his destination that leads back to the forest.

Sneaking back into the forest the same way he came in, the two strayed off back to the trees. All the while, Raphtalia was confused at why Link decided to cross-dress. He really needed to fix his relationship at one point with the kingdom and set things straight.

However, while he may be plenty strong, he would at the moment need someone to fight for him until the Master Sword could be used again. And that would have to be...her. Though, at the very least she did it in her own accord.

On the way back to the place where he had hid the weapons, he heard violent coughs from the girl behind him. Turning back, Link could see that she was struggling to catch up with him. It seems like she has a lot in her mind.

Once they were back, Link sat Raphtalia on a fallen tree trunk before creating a fire in the middle of the space they were in. Placing some trout on two sticks, he waited for them to cook. He cursed to himself that he didn't buy a portable cooking pot which he had saw in the town.

Going through his bag, Link pulled out a stamina potion. It will have to do for now as medicine. He walked to Raphtalia before gesturing for her to drink it. She, with some hesitance, grabbed the bottle before taking a sip. Whining in disgust, she nearly dropped the green liquid before Link caught it.

"It doesn't taste good at all! So bitter."

"Energy." The Hylian explained to her with a determined look holding the drink. "So you don't get worse."

"Who are you, Link?" the raccoon child asked with attentiveness as Link poured the drink into her mouth. "Mmph!"

"...Just a knight."

"A knight?" she said after ingesting what he had given her. She was then handed a meaty fish, courtesy of Link. Her mouth started to drool before she shoved the whole trout in her mouth. All the while, Link was eating his fish in mouthfuls looking with an amazed look. She quickly turned red and adverted her eyes from his gaze.

"Um...can I have some more fish?" she asked ashamed. Laughing to himself, Link patted her head before giving her some more trout to eat. Link was glad that she was no longer depressed as much as how she was before. It certainly fit her a lot more better than being depressed.

As they finished eating, Raphtalia followed the Hylian to the open ground of the forest. He now wore a more earnest look as he realized that if she was going to fight for him, she would need to be trained in all the proper weapons. Of course, that would mean training her like how he was from the past.

"Are you okay with assisting me?" Link asked the girl. With a small firm look, the young girl gave a response.

"Of course! You gave me a choice, I think I want to stay with you...Link-sama." As she said the final part, she stuttered trying to confirm what she could call the Hylian. With a nod, Link gave her instructions.

For the next two weeks, Raphtalia needed to do three sets of twenty-five push ups, twenty pull-ups, a mile jog around the forest all with a break in between each set. And for a reason unknown to her, if she saw a soldier near her, she must climb the nearest tree. Needless to say, she had a lot to endure.

However for today, Link sought to help her fully. Giving the girl a lesson in how to perform each exercise, he did so with complacency as his body was far more capable to do more. However, Raphtalia struggled to begin the second set as her body grew tired.

"Everything hurts!" Raphtalia squealed out as she collapsed on her knees after her second push up. Knowing there was no way to sugarcoat it, Link tried to console her.

"The many more times you do it, you will feel less pain. I guarantee it." he said.

"Hah, hah, what is this for, Link-sama?" she said readying for another push-up once she got her breath back.

"Knight training." he said back making sure her back was straight. Gently pushing her down, he could hear her panting intensely. However, with some willpower she was able to look up with a smile.

"Like you?"

"Mhmm...this is supposed to help you become strong enough to hold your own. And that includes hand-to-hand combat."

"Then I will try my very best to help!" the raccoon girl exclaimed as she was continued to push herself. The Hylian gave a joyed look as he stood up watching her. Soon after, she was done with all three sets for the day.

"Hah, hah, hah...Link-sama, I have returned." she declared as she jogged back to Link who was fumbling with a makeshift bed made out of wooden sticks and Keese wings. He had a few drops of sweat on his forehead as he tried to make it stand, but ultimately it did.

The sun was already setting down once the two were eating some trout, the same as in the afternoon although it still tasted good. Link promised to himself to pick up the portable cooking pot that he saw yesterday in the market. He should just take a risk and wear his cloak instead of dressing up like a girl again.

After the two finished, Link placed Raphtalia on the makeshift bed. He was about to lay down on the floor near the burned out campfire when the young girl grew perplexed at his action.

"Link-sama, why would you choose to sleep on the ground? Can we not sleep on the same bed together?"

Link shook his head at her direction before putting his head down. A few seconds later, he heard Raphtalia get off the makeshift bed before walking up to him. She now wore a pouty look on her face.

"Link-sama, sleep on the bed now!" she said sternly almost like a mother. Link turned back with a inquisitive gaze at her. Her mood refused to change as it felt like she was challenging him. Sighing, Link stood up before laying down on the bed he made. He then felt Raphtalia get on the bed on one side.

She huffed to herself as she felt the Hylian hood being placed over her. She turned to see Link already asleep covered with the hood as well. Knowing that much, the girl went to sleep as well. However, Link was unsettled by a cry later that night.

"No!" he heard Raphtalia scream. She grabbed Link's waist in tears as the Hylian stood up to see what had happened. "Mom! Dad!"

So this is what that merchant meant from her having a mental disorder? Nonsense, a nightmare could happen to anybody especially with kids.

Gently holding her next to him, Link gave soothing strokes to her back. "Noo...please don't leave me."

"It will be okay, Raphtalia...I'm not leaving." After a few seconds, she stopped crying to look at the Hylian holding her. He had a confident grin in his face. He wiped her eyes gently. "That is what a hero does."

"You don't mean one of the Cardinal Her-" Raphtalia gasped out before Link nodded at her.

"I'm one of the legendary heroes. The Shield Hero...though I was doing something else before this." he explained.

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you another time, now let's go get some rest."

The two then drifted back to sleep. When they both woke up, Raphtalia's face turned red once he looked at her, much to Link's confusion.

By the time the sun was out fully in the forest, Raphtalia was busy looking for firewood. Link had went out to purchase something, much to her curiosity, without telling what it was. He had entrusted that she would complete her training for the day without him.

As she continued to go pass bushes and trees with vigor present on her face in search of anything wood to burn, the girl quietly thought to herself about Link.

He was a demi-human in her eyes. Unequal to humans. However, he carried himself with positivity and strength, that she would desire to replicate. With his power, could he hold up to be the shield hero that her parents have told of her before? A legend who defined a new era for all demi-humans?

She would have to wait a little longer to find out if what her parents said was true. She was glad her new master,er, new protector had gave her a chance to choose if she wanted to stay with him or not. Even if he didn't, she knew that at the very least he would treat her better than her previous master.

Link was a good guy after all. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her if he can. She could tell that from his expressions when he looked at her that he did care. That there was not a hint of mischief or evil. Only love and compassion. He would come back and make some delicious trout for the two of th-

Her opinions were paused when she felt a burst of wind blow right near her. She turned to see what caused it before she was pushed back with extreme force to a tree behind her. Her vision quickly turned black less than a second later.

To say that King Aultcray was upset was a understatement. He was shaken to his core with anger and frustration at the young man who took the place of the shield hero yesterday. How dare he make a fool out of him in his own palace?!

It was underhanded. Unfair, disgusting, and on his highest regard, annoying. This Link must be clearly taken out of the picture if he was able to best the spear hero in a quick bout with nothing but his shields and experience.

Had he knew what this "warrior" was capable of, he would have sent for the Three Heroes Church to send their magic when his back was turned. All of the events that had taken yesterday with the strange demi-human left him with one sole feeling...that being intimidated.

"Um...my lordship?" a nervous adviser asked as they came forward to him. King Aultcray looked up from his throne to see his right-hand man with a unsettled look.

"What is it? Did they find the whereabouts of the shield hero?"

"I'm afraid not, my lord. They simply knew he had escaped into the forest outside of the gates. However, there was a report of a ghoulish creature wielding two golden shackles present in the area. It seems it was not killed in the waves from before. From what the soldiers saw, it was very fast without any legs. It also seems to display intelligence."

"And might where I ask where it is now?"

"It seems to have taken stay at the Abandoned Watchtower."

"In the forest, then." With this knowledge, King Aultcray grew a smile. Seems like he might not need to do anything after all...

Link was smiling to himself as he now had in his hands a stone cooking pot in his hands. He joyfully placed the pot down on their campsite. Behind him was two other figures. Two demi-human children holding hands who were confused at the Hylian in front of them.

He whistled to himself as he boiled some herbs and fruit together. He would hope Raphtalia could appreciate his cooking.

After Link had struggled to keep his indentity unknown, he managed to purchase the cooking pot that he so desperately wanted for himself and Raphtalia. However, it had nearly licked him from every coin he had. However, he wanted to buy Raphtalia something better to wear than what she had now.

Turning back to return to the forest, he saw two young brown haired demi-humans moving cargo under a bald man's supervision. Now any sane being would have grit their teeth when they see this unfairness and move on. After all, every choice has a consequence.

However, when Link saw the bald man nearly bash the male's head with a baton once he fell, his shield met the blow. When the man looked to see who had done it, he received a boot to his face knocking him out. The two children were astonished at the Hylian's actions before he gave them a gesture to follow him.

And so they did with reluctance with confusion and fear present in their faces. Link took them across an alleyway back before turning to see guards circling the fallen man. Tch, so much for making a good impression so far.

"Hey, do you need to hide somewhere after hitting that man?" a gruff voice said from behind him. Link turned around to see a muscular bearded man look back at him with a serious look that was enforced with a scar on his left cheek. He wore a plaid white tunic with a brown apron hanging on one of his broad shoulders. "You can stay here if you want until the action stops."

Link put a hand on his chin as he considered the man's offer. He could already hear the voices of soldiers coming nearby. It was better than nothing, he supposed. He nodded and guided the two demi-human children inside before going inside.

It was a blacksmith's store with weapons of all sorts made out of different materials. He could even see armor sets in some places. However, he simply looked at the weapons with mild curiousity and calmness. The muscular man before him smiled to himself as he looked at the Hylian.

"Do you like my weapons, shield hero?" he said the final part with a teasing look. That grabbed Link's attention as he was stupefied by his discovery. "You weren't fooling anybody, maybe the guards, but I can tell you are the demi-human they were looking for."

"Darn, I thought I could have." Link responded with a frown as he looked at the man. "But why did you decide to help me?"

"I saw you yesterday sneaking with that demi-human girl outside of the gates as well as protect that boy over there. It is a hunch but I bet you are innocent." the man said pointing at the boy who hid behind the girl. "I also heard how you defeated the spear hero and escaped the goddamn castle...now I don't believe we shared names. Mine's Ernhard."

"Link." the Hylian presented. Ernhard looked at the two demi-humans behind them.

"Hmm...you two look like two wolf demi-humans. So what are your names?"

"Rean..." the male mumbled out behind his sister's tail.

"Linde..." the girl said shyly still very much astounded by everything around her. Ernhard looked at the two before growing a frown.

"It seems that they both slave crests on. The good thing about that is that if they get out of hearing range of their master's commands, they won't die." the blacksmith said gravely. "You shouldn't necessarily set them free though...since it is legal."

"I cannot leave them to suffer." Link said with resolve embedded in his voice.

"I know. You got the eyes of a true warrior already. But messing with the order of things isn't going to help anybody in the end." Ernhard said back. "But that will be for another time. Where's that little girl that you were with yesterday? Don't tell me you left her to be free."

"Her name is Raphtalia. She is in the forest right now." the Hylian explained before he got hit in the head. The blow was not too hard but it sure made him rub his head in pain.

"You left her in the forest? Link, you are a fool if you think that the forest is a safe place for a young lad like her."

"I'm sorry. I just needed to buy a cooking pot for her fever."

"I see. You know what, I like considerate people. How about I set you off with something for the kid? I noticed that she didn't have anything good to wear."

"I only have four silvers." Link explained with a head shake. He placed the four coins down on the man's table.

"Screw it, I'll see what I can find for her and the two brats behind you." As Ernhard said this, the children's faces looked up with interest. He took Link's money before going behind a door.

A few minutes later, he came out with black and red one-piece dress as well as leather brown boots for Raphtalia. As for the other two, he threw two hooded brown tunics with silver cuffs at the two wolf demi-humans.

Link waited outside the changing room for the two to finish when Ernhard talked once again. "The soldiers are gone for now luckily. But just know that if you want to buy armor or weapons you can come to me."

"Is that why you assisted me?" the Hylian asked.

"Partly. But also because I'm a good person. Now get going, that girl won't be completely safe in the forest."

At that statement, Rean and Linde came out from the changing room. With that, Link set off to return back into the forest with the two.

"Jeez, the shield hero is certainly turning to be like how he was shown from the past." Ernhard said looking at the three demi-humans walking away.

Hmm...Raphtalia couldn't have been so long with her search. She couldn't have gone lost as Link advised her to always have eyesight of the campsite at all times. He was sure that while she might be a child, she was very much diligent and attentive when he had told her.

"Link, you are a fool if you think that the forest is a safe place for a young lad like her." Ernhard's words rang in his head as he started to look around for the raccoon girl. Could something really get to her?

He can't take any chances, he would look for her right now! Turning back to Rean and Linde, he gave a few words to the two of them.

"I need to look for someone. Please stay here." With that, Link set off deeper into the forest. Other than a few of the ball creatures yesterday that he saw, he didn't see much that could have hurt the girl.

"Raphtalia!" he called out. No answer...he continued to walk around the forest. He only took out his Lynel Shield to cut apart some of the balloon balls that lunged at him. He grunted as one bit his sword arm. Still no pain.

He cut that one too. Once he did, he felt a minor gash on his back. That hit caused him to turn back just to narrowly crouch as he saw a floating entity lunge at him with a scythe barely missing. A headless phantom floated above him with a blueish ghostly cloak over it.

From behind, he could hear a horrible wail from behind him. Turning back, he was barely able to block a blue fireball coming from that direction. Behind it, was the head of the phantom. A cackling skull that simply flew above the air.

Pulling out the Giant Boomerang, he threw the projectile at the flying skull. As he did, he dodged another slash from the cloaked creature. By that time, the boomerang smashed the skull before circling back to cut the phantom in half. A second later, Link had his boomerang back in his hand before he moved.

Lightly running, Link ran with a nervous look in his eye. Of course not for himself, but for Raphtalia. Sure he was able to deal with such things easily, however, to a untrained individual, they would surely meet death.

From the left, the Hylian heard a loud cry from another of the headless phantoms. With a downward strike, it met Link's Lynel Shield as its midsection was bisected. Behind it, was the head of the monstrosity preparing a fireball.

Throwing a bomb from his Sheikah Slate instinctively at the head, it reacted to the explosion. Link got knocked back by the heat before rolling onto his feet, just a little worse for wear. But by then, he noticed a damaged sign a few feet away from him.

Even though he was unable to read it, he could still tell it pointed left. To a dirt path that seemed to be used extensively to travel.

Meeting a few of the same monsters, he managed to reach his destination, well...at least to where it had lead. All the while, he felt more chilly the more he went down the path. Probably just the wind.

Once he had reached down the dirt road, he could see a rundown tower. It had moss growing on the stone exterior. Each of the windows were smashed into. The pillars that supported it look like they were going to collapse due to cracks into each. Alongside the shingles of the roof that were falling off.

The worse of all in Link's opinion was the front door being a metal gate that was battered leaving a huge hole deep inside of it. It was almost like it was eerily telling him to stay out. Link simply put on a solemn expression as he went inside.

Raphtalia slowly opened her eyes to see a darkly lit room that was barely illuminated by missing shingles from the ceiling. Why was she so close to the roof? And why was her vision blocked by bars?

"Eep!" she yelped out as she looked around the dark room. She looked around to see a few other cages around her. Most of them hanged emptily, however, the one that grabbed her attention was one that held a soldier with white hair and a lost look on his face, barely clasping onto life.

A sudden clang erupted from below. Although it was dark, she could see a phantasmal creature come from a iron door. It had the physique of a dragon however it's back legs were strangely missing. Instead, it floated menacingly in the air with sharp claws on the legs it did have. On them, Raphtalia could see the glint of gold shackles on each of them.

With wide irises, Raphtalia didn't say a sound as the dragon like creature flew up to one of the cages, that thankfully wasn't hers. Inside was another soldier she didn't notice that was asleep. A swordswoman...

The dragon managed to open the cage with relative ease before grasping the woman in one claw. It slowly opened its mouth and then started to suck out a cool blue stream out of the woman's mouth. Little by little, the woman's hair started to turn white and her skin started to turn pale.

Raphtalia decided she couldn't see anymore as the woman was put back in her cage. She then saw the dragon's red specteral eyes gaze at her own. She retreated more back into the cage that she was in as tears fell from her eyes. "No...no...No! Mama! Papa! Help me, please!"

Even though this was not the dog monster that had taken her parents away from her, it still instilled the same fear and horror that it had. And she couldn't fight it. How could she?!

"Please...I'm afraid...I don't want to die!" she cried out. The dragon monster was at her cage. "Link!"

At that moment, the Hylian crashed through the iron door wielding the strange sword that he carried and the shield he had on his back originally. He looked pissed as it looked like the sword is electrocuting him.

Once Link had entered the tower, he noticed there was a ghastly looking knight stumbling near a door. It was clanging its head on one of the stone walls before it noticed Link. It slowly lifted a giant sword before walking to him.

The Hylian took out the Hylian Shield. He wasn't going to beat an armored foe with any shield but he did have a sword that did...and frankly he didn't care if he got repulsed.

He cursed to himself as he prepared to grab the Master Sword already feeling a repelling shock come over his hand just by touching it's handle. Link then firmly took out the blade with gritted teeth as he felt it continue to hurt every part of him. What made him frown was that the sword glew blue signifying there was an evil to this place.

"Hyah!" he cried out as he went to decapitate the specter knight before swung straight down. Both blades met their targets. Link's cut the knight's head off while it's sword hit the front of his shield. The body of armor instantly collapsed on the floor.

What the hell was that thing? Regardless, Link had dealt with it and placed the sword back on its sheath.

He quietly opened the wooden door of the next room to see it with several more of the same knights. He decided to dash into the next door which was across from them. However, a metal gate blocked the door from him.

At that moment, the knights noticed the Hylian. He huffed in frustration as he was going to take out his weapons once more before his nose smelled something funny coming from the ground. Was that poison?

He didn't have time to think as a purple hand lunged out of the ground. He tried to move his foot but it swiftly latched onto it causing him to wince as it tried to hold him in place. Before he could even begin what to process next, he got knocked back into one of the walls by one of the knights.

He gasped in pain as he felt his head start to bleed. That hurt. He got up and noticed his nose wasn't telling him any falsehoods. There was a green mist coming from holes in the ground. This is a poison room. But there was no exit.

He just noticed that there was two switches on each opposite part of the room. Rolling away from another knight's sword, Link pondered this puzzle. He quickly rolled a bomb at two of the four knights slowly trudging to him, merely tripping them.

He then started to run towards one of the switches before kicking it to activate it. He started to feel a little fatigued as he did. Nothing happened.

He pulled out his shield to save himself from another swing from another knight. He then let out a battle cry as he cut the head of the knight leaving it to tumble on its own. Three more left.

However, a few more of the hand-like foes came out from the ground once more. He was able to cut one of them down with the Master Sword before another grabbed his sword arm. Using his Sheikah Slate, he was able to stop it from moving, making it easy to use his free arm to cut it.

He then narrowly put his shield up to prevent a strike from the standing knight before pushing it a few feet away. Link then made it crash into a wall using the Sheikah Slate's magnetic properties before standing up. He swiftly threw his boomerang at the other switch across the room.

It connected, pushing that switch down. Still nothing happened. However behind him, Link noticed that the other switch went back to its orignal position. So that is what's up, he thought to himself as his boomerang returned to him.

The two knights that had tripped were now up and lurched towards him. Link saw that the two both raise their swords at the same time before in launching an X-cross attack at the same time.

He managed to hold them at that position with the Master Sword feeling his arms being strained to hold off such a large weight especially from being shocked at the same time. However, he could hear the two's swords crack above him.

He let out a sigh of relief as their swords crumbled on top of him.

"Hah!" As they did, he prepared a spin attack before unleashing it, much to the monsters's misfortune. The two had been thrown back with such force that their legs were cut off. They crumbled a second later.

At that moment in time, Link froze time at one of the switches and threw his boomerang at it. Once it clanged, he swiftly ran the other direction to the other switch.

Just as the final knight started to stand up, Link threw the other switch down. He started to cough violently as the poison started to cause him to nearly his coordination.

Link felt the chains of time release on the other switch. It clicked down alongside the other one he was holding.

Abruptly, he saw the metal gate lift up to the next room and two metal vents opened to the outside. All the poison gas went out of the room however it had distracted the hero from seeing the final knight landed a cut on his thigh.

Kicking it in the head, Link could only move it few inches. But that was enough space as the Hylian needed to swing his sword to behead the final knight. With that, Link advanced to the next room.

Above him, he could see that there was a spiral staircase that lead to the top of the tower. On the same level as him was three rooms. However, he couldn't reach to the staircase at the very first place since it was too high.

On one of the walls of the room he was in, he saw a depiction of a strange temple. Was it a church? Or a Monastery?

Looking around the room, Link saw no threats thankfully, however, no lever or switch to reach the spiral staircase. He could see three large globular-shaped hollow flutes with several holes. Each had an empty circular slot in each. Seems like these need something to placed inside of each.

There was a sign near the three flutes that gave a bit of an explanation. "This watchtower was graciously built under the grace of the Three Heroes Church. In every wave, we can feel the presence of our faith grow as high as the top of their sanctuary."

Looking at the door to his left, Link decided to enter. There was a treasure chest in the furthest of the room that was blocked by one of the knights from before. Link growled as he went to confront the thing by stopping time, before stabbing it through its head.

Link pulled out his sword from the knight's headpiece before opening the chest in the room. A gold medallion of a sword.

Closing the chest, he went to leave when he realized that the knight was still standing. But wasn't a sword slice enough?

He could see a dark aura stream out from the specter knight as it held its great sword with malice. Link was not quick enough to pull out his shield to guard a stab near his head but still jumped to the side.

That was not enough as the armor kneed him in the gut causing him to fly in the sky. Link grew confused at this before he managed to pull out the stinging Master Sword and went for a downward thrust onto his foe's head.

It jumped out of the way before being frozen in time once more as Link came back to the ground. With a ferocious yell, he cut the metal monster several times with his sword. With each time it contacted, it made a loud clang.

Time resumed shortly after, showing it was completely overwhelmed by Link's onslaught, as he stood panting heavily at his attack. It immediately crumbled into nothing in the ground. With that, Link exited the room that he was in. He decided to try the next one to him in the center. It required a key.

Having no choice, he decided to see the door at the right. Opening that door, he was prepared for what was inside. It was a little more larger room with two of the knights from before.

By now, Link was getting irritated seeing the same bumbling enemies from before. He could eye another treasure chest across the floor. No longer wanting to put up with any possible danger, he silently crouched to open the chest.

Another medallion. This one with a spear.

However there was no key to reach the final room. There must be something that is missing.

He looked at the knights clanging their heads on the walls. Then he noticed something peculiar. One of them was making a more deeper sound, like it was made out of iron.

Pulling out the Sheikah Slate, Link started to move the wall with ease. Using it, he smacked the knight that was banging his head to the side before entering himself. There on a hook, was the key.

He picked it up before returning to confront the two knights. He froze time for one of them before picking up his sword. It was now starting to hurt holding it even for a moment.

He managed to land a slice on the knight's chest revealing a dark red aura spill out from it before it swung vertically.

Link backflipped from the attack before lunging with his own flurry of blows on the foe, defeating one out of the two.

As for the other, he decapitated that one too with another slash. He started to have tears in his eyes from the pain coursing from his body just for holding the Master Sword for so long.

Exiting the room, he proceeded open the final door. Placing the key inside the lock, it let out a satisfying click before dropping to the floor.

Nothing was inside but a medallion of a bow on a hook. The locked door had kept any monsters from being inside.

With eager, he took it and proceeded to return back to the main room with all three medallions. He took another look at the strange church on the wall.

Link recollected the words from the sign before looking at the top of the "Three Heroes Church". There on the top was each a statue of a spear, the sword, and the bow, in that order.

A church that believes in heroes? That sounded absurd. But, what made him even more concerned was that the shield hero did not exist or wasn't considered relevant.

At that discovery, he turned to place the spear medallion first, the sword medallion second, and then finally the bow medallion. All the while, he was pondering on how he would confront the kingdom.

No doubt, this church would be against him as well. However, he still had the power of his friends with him. With them, he had no fear that they could defeat him.

Now, it was time to save another one...

As he placed the bow medallion in the final flute, all three started to make a deep hollow sound. A second later, a set of purple stair steps started to appear though they were made out of magic.

Lightly placing his foot on it, Link felt that it was solid. He then started to run up the staircase that he wasn't able to enter before.

As he ascended, he could make out the scuttling sounds of a certain raccoon girl. He continued forward with his sword and the Hylian Shield out.

He was then finally met with a iron door and a young shout from Raphtalia.

"Link!"

Bursting in through the door, Link could see his friend above him in cage along with a wyvern-looking creature that didn't have a tail but rather a fog that followed it. A red dragon's head glared daggers at the hero causing him to prepare himself for one final battle.

And with a roar from both Link and the dragon, it began.

The Forgotten Wind, Windiga

Windiga dissapeared from Link's vision immediately. Feeling the wind behind him start to change, he did a backflip to avoid a tackle from behind.

During his flip, he tried to thrust his sword downward missing it. Before he could even recover, he was grabbed by one of the claws.

He struggled to escape but he was thrown to one of the walls of the watchtower before falling to the ground with a large thud.

"Link! Please be okay!" he heard Raphtalia call out.

Barely standing on his feet, Link took out a health potion before gulping it down. As he did, the dragon tried to bite him.

However, it only bit a plate of his shield as the Hylian managed to block its attack. He then raised his Sheikah Slate to stop it from moving as well however it didn't work.

Puzzled, Link simply avoided another bite to his sides from Windiga. As he did, he tried to slam his blade onto its head. It was missed as well.

He groaned in pain as he was grabbed once again. He felt his body constrict under the monster's grasp but he was able to release himself from its hold.

Falling to the floor, he threw his boomerang at the dragon. Too slow.

Another dive from the monster caused him to fall onto his front as he was unable to notice it. This creature was too fast, but how? It didn't have a impressive set of wings to use nor does it have enough weight to unleash some of its attacks.

He could see Raphtalia's cage and other cages start to wiggle around from the insane speed that Windiga was kicking up.

He only had enough time to see that before it came down in a bomb rush. He closed his eyes as his shield was able to stop it from crushing his body barely. Regardless, it caused dust from the ground.

"Hyah!" Once he felt the force was gone, he jumped up and prepared to cut the dragon. However, past the flying dirt, he didn't see his target.

Rather, the monster came from behind with another grapple with him. Using his sword, Link was able to use its sharp end to hurt its claws. But not as much as how his body felt using the Master Sword.

Maybe it was time to use the power of his friends...

Again, he looked up as he fell to the ground. There was a large window that led to the outside. Could it be?

Bashing his shield at Windiga's snout as it tried to bite him, Link saw it was open.

With a wary look at Raphtalia, Link narrowly evaded another rush from the dragon. With hesitance, he pointed his Sheikah Slate at the girl's cage.

"Eh!?" Raphtalia grew confused as the cage started to glow red. Looking below, she could see Link was keeping a strange device trained on her cage as he kept an eye at the monster he was fighting.

"Wha-what is happening?" she started to stand up from her crouched position as she saw her cage door was open.

"Raphtalia, I need you to close that window! There's not enough time to explain. " Link called down from below. He had a worried look as he looked at her. However, the dragon looked up at her with a hungry glint in his red eyes.

Her body turned frozen at his request. She felt suddenly vulnerable as she started to cower away.

"I can't do it! I'm too scared..." she cried out in a mix frustration and fear. How pathetic of her. She wasn't worthy of being aligned with the Shield Hero.

"I'll hold it off, but I need you close the window to the outside..." Windiga started to fly towards her before Link used his strange device to make another cage smack into its head, making it angry at the Hylian again.

"No...I'm sorry Link! I'm afraid..." the raccoon girl cried at the hero's struggle as he valiantly swung his sword to keep the dragon away from him.

Regardless, he looked like he was in extreme pain. Raphtalia knew from her parents that a Cardinal Hero cannot wield any other weapon other than the one they have when they came.

She didn't know how he was able to wield that strange sword but it looked like just holding it caused an immense strain on his being. She cursed her cowardness and weakness seeing this.

"We all feel afraid sometimes. But that's why we have to fight through it, so that we can reach out onto others." With a kind grin, Link blocked another blow from Windiga, only moving him a few feet.

"And Raphtalia, I won't forget to do that to anybody. Because that is what a hero does!"

No, no, no. She couldn't listen to anymore. She wasn't able to save her parents. How could she save Link? The man who bought her freedom. The knight who gave her food and a bed to sleep on. The hero who cared and loved a nobody like her.

She watched as he was struggled to keep Windiga off of him. But the new bite marks on his back made her want to turn away. He was going to bleed out eventually if nothing was done.

"I'm sorry...Link..." she murmured out. Link still heard her words however.

"It's alright. I know you didn't get into this mess. But I have a duty and that it is to save you." Link said as he endured another bite on his shoulder. However, he nearly was about to cut its head before it vanished away from him.

It reappeared a moment later, knocking him to the ground with another arial dive. By this time, Link had scratches and bruises around his body.

Raphtalia was still tearing up in her cage before she felt her cage move once more. It was now a jump's length away from her. Below, she could see the knight and Windiga clashing.

Despite that, she could see the Hylian panting heavily as he let out another battle cry from another attempted slash. Link by far wasn't weak but he simply couldn't land any hits. It was up to her.

He needed her. And she would need him to survive. She would have to fight her fear.

She stood up from her cage. It continued to swing back and forth much like a swing set that she experienced in the past. With that, she dared to jump again.

"Thank you, Raphtalia!" she heard Link say from below. The raccoon girl didn't pay attention as she made it to the window. Wind was coming inside, however, it was strange as it felt like it was being vacuumed in.

Regardless, Raphtalia closed it with some force before with glee seeing the consequences of her actions.

The Hylian saw Windiga fall to the ground. So it did use the wind from outside to move.

Before it realized what happened to it, Link took advantage with a flurry of strikes on the creature making it roar in pain.

He did not stop, making sure that he would inflict as much damage as he can at this time. With each new swing, he grew more tired and pained due to the sword's repellance to him.

Above, he could see the window start to lift up until a certain girl tried to keep it closed.

"Hnngh!" Raphtalia struggled to stop it from opening again as Link kept stabbing it.

In frustration, Windiga threw Link off of it and floated above his sword's range. Curses! Foiled again!

Link saw weapons that were ditched on the floor from past soldiers start to vibrate. In a sharp turn, he saw them slowly move into a cyclone that Windiga had created turning it into a tornado with plenty debris.

The monster then let the cyclone move around. It slowly started to tumble near Link's direction. Turning to avoid it, though, Link saw it had conjured up two more on each side.

Such a thing was so smart to surround him with multiple projectiles. However, Link was smarter.

Tossing his giant boomerang, he cut a cage above the Windiga's head, stunning it. It fell on the floor unceremoniously.

When it gained back its train of thought, Link was preparing a spin attack. Without a second to waste, the Hylian swung his blade one final time.

The Windiga shrieked one final time before falling down on the floor, dead. Strangely, its gold chains clanged on the floor. And Link fell down the same, drained of all of his energy.

"Link-sama! Are you okay!?" Raphtalia called out but received no answer in return. She was about to jump down to help him before he started to rise.

"No. Stay there." As he started to get up, the stone platform he was on started to crumble. He tumbled down the watchtower with the golden cuffs falling right next him.

"Link!" Raphtalia shouted before she fell as well from the sudden collapse of the floor.

It was only for a few seconds before she felt Link's arms surround her. She could hear him sigh calmly as they both fell more down.

"Stay on my back." The Hylian instructed. Raphtalia, although afraid from being in midair, followed his command.

Link pulled out his paraglider before they descended down the staircase that he used to go up. With their descent slower, Link decided to speak painfully.

"I told you, I'm not leaving."

"Thank you..." she said tearfully as she hugged the knight's back. The two landed on the floor with the flutes.

Raphtalia gently got off Link as he tumbled on the floor. The Master Sword taken alot out of him. He would have been fine if it hadn't hurt in the process. It left him with enough energy to pull out the paraglider for a safe landing.

Now, it left him with nothing...he layed motionless on the floor, much to Raphtalia's dismay.

"Link? Link! What's the matter?" she ran to the fallen Hylian. "No, you said that you weren't going to leave me! Please don't die!"

She heard a cough come from his body before a blue aura surrounded his body. Bubbles also emerged, with one hitting Raphtalia's nose.

Link woke up with a groan as Raphtalia started to squeeze him in happiness. Her tail started to wag excitedly behind her.

"I-I thought you were gone!"

Link rose up before placing his hand on Raphtalia's head, patting it. With his mission complete, Link saw the Master Sword a few feet away from him. It must have fallen out when he fell down.

"Sorry, Raphtalia. I should have kept a more closer eye on you." Link said as he felt the girl's arms tighten around him.

"No...it's not your fault...you saved me even though it hurt you. You nearly died for me." Raphtalia voiced as Link stood up.

"I actually did die." Link said somberly as he picked up the Master Sword from the floor. He winced as it continued to hurt his hand before putting it on his back.

"But then why are you alive?!" Raphtalia asked appalled at his words of how her knight had fallen.

"It's a long story. But I will explain everything at camp. But are you hurt anywhere?" Link asked fearfully eyeing her for any bruises or scratches.

"No, I'm fine, thanks to you." Raphtalia said with a smile. From behind Link, she could see something shiny on a broken piece of the floor. It was the golden chains. "What about those?"

"Take them, their yours." Link said gesturing with an open hand. Before she went to retrieve them, she heard the Hylian call her back. "Wait, I have something to give you."

Link had in his hand a small brown pouch tied on a string. "Here, Raphtalia. You are going to need this if you are going to be my helper."

"A pouch?"

"You can put as many things as you want in here and it will never fill up." The Hylian explained now placing the object in her hands.

She believed the Hylian's words before pocketing the golden shackles behind her. The pouch didn't expand as she did.

She saw the Hylian start to walk away while whistling cheerfully. Raphtalia quickly jogged up to him while looking at his back. The two walked towards the exit of the building with Raphtalia's tail wagging eagerly as they did.

So, the rumors of the savior of the demi-humans were true, then.

This one was done a little early could I add. But yeah, I'll give my good opinion on this chapter. It was shaky and felt like it was not written well. I'll admit I tried to make it sound appealing but I have doubts that it came out that way. Tell me what you think. I hoped that Raphtalia and Link's dialogue and actions sufficed for a good read. It was a bit difficult to write them out. But yeah, dungeons from Zelda will be making a return. There will be 8 of them and with puzzles. I intend to make my own custom puzzles with each of them in the world of Shield Hero. I think this first one was alright but I'll try to make better ones just like out of the games. Anyways, MercyChimes out.

1st Dungeon: Abandoned Watchtower

2nd Dungeon: ?

3rd Dungeon: ?

4th Dungeon: ?

5th Dungeon: ?

6th Dungeon: ?

7th Dungeon: ?

8th Dungeon: ?

1st Final Boss: The Forgotten Wind, Windiga

2nd Final Boss: ?

3rd Final Boss: ?

4th Final Boss: ?

5th Final Boss: ?

6th Final Boss: ?

7th Final Boss: ?

8th Final Boss: ?