Chapter 1
The Lost Woods. A place of endless forests, it's similar to a crossroad, with nigh-infinite amounts of entrance and exits. A dimensional crossroad that connects to endless worlds, universes, realities, dimensions, and times. A lone imposing figure in fearsome armor makes his way through the thick foliage, it's been some time since he has seen these woods.
The armored figure is around nine feet tall, he looks around for a moment then his tense shoulders relax (AN: imagine the iron dragon slayer armor set from DarkSouls 3), he takes off his helm long golden blonde hair falls at his back, fierce Sapphire blue eyes shine in the dark forest, handsome facial features adorned with tribal tattoos to create a threatening visage, he inhaled then released a relieved breath.
"Thank the Goddesses I'm out of that nightmare called Lothric," Link says.
Link has been traveling the Lost Woods for around seven years looking for his friend Navi, though he is not quite sure due to the different timezones, and worlds he's been to, he should be around twenty years of age, but his physical age hardly matters anymore due to the price he paid for using the powers of the Fierce Deity mask, he is no longer allowed a natural death, he doesn't age, he has to die by the hands of another person, he is not even allowed to kill himself if ever wish to end his eternity.
He does miss his home but he is not one of the Kokiri, so the forest is no longer his home, and he has seen too much, done too much, to ever be able to go back to blissful ignorance or his naive world view, he is no longer the master of the Master Sword, he no longer houses the spirit of the hero, he is just Link though he has no idea who he is anymore.
Link creates a small campfire, and sets up a basic camp for the night, he erected magic wands to hide and protect the camp through the night, from the monsters, and the curse of The Lost Woods, he makes a large dinner and inhaled the food as if he was starving, the soothing tranquility of the forest at night would lull anyone to sleep, but Link is wide awake and alert to even the faintest sounds, yet slowly sleep claims him as he sleeps leaning on a tree, with a large sword held in a tight grip.
The next few weeks continue on a similar pattern; at day he would traverse the forest, looking for edible foods, and ingredients to create his potions for he has run out, at night he would decompress and deal with the effects of his last otherworldly journey, it's slow going but he has stopped looking for an enemy everywhere he goes, he has also stopped sleeping while holding a weapon though one always sits just in reach to use in an instant when he sleeps, he drinks a special brew that grants him a dreamless sleep, it's a reprieve from his nightly nightmares.
He does not attempt to contact or interact with anyone from Hyrule, for most of them don't know or remember him, only Saria truly knows him she has been like a mother/best friend his whole life, but he can't bring himself to face her not after his failure, as he states into the fire he is reminded of the Ashen One and his quest, never had he felt so useless, he fought, he killed, he survived, but in the end, he could never truly have saved anyone, and in the end, the Ashen one who became a friend sacrificed himself for nothing, it had forever shattered his worldview, Link has always believed if you try your hardest give everything you have you are rewarded for your efforts, your struggles and pain matters, that was not the case in that world, he was no hero just a bystander to the end of the world.
SNAP!
In an instant Link was on his feet, with his Lothric Knight greatsword at the interloper's throat prompting a startled scream from them.
"Link it's me Saria!" Saria exclaimed in fear of the sword at her neck.
Link's eyes refocused and when he sees that it's Saria he almost killed he backed away instantly, putting away his blade as he tries to calm his breathing, after a few minutes of silence he asked, "Why are you here Saria?"
Obviously shaken from what just happened she takes a moment to collect herself, then responds.
"I came to see you, I knew the moment you were in the forest, I thought you would come to see me yourself, but then you stayed in the forest, I was worried about you becoming cursed," she took a glance at his camp more specifically the magic wards, "you seem to have a way to negate the curse, so I watched you wondering why your aura and magic felt different slightly darker, what happened Link, what changed?" She asked her concern clear in her eyes and tone of voice.
Link didn't answer he just sat flat on the ground with his head his mind running wild with dark thoughts, he thought he was making progress, that he was moving past it but if he was so far gone that he couldn't recognize Saria's aura then he needs help, suddenly childlike hands wraps around his neck, he stiffness for a moment then relaxed when the small hands started caressing his hair in a soothing familiar pattern.
"You don't have to talk if you don't want to, just know that I will always stand by you, I will always love you, you can never be a failure in my eyes," Saria says softly as she continues to run her hand through his hair.
Her actions and reassuring words break the dam on his emotions, he holds her tighter and breaks down crying, he then falls into the first peaceful sleep he has had since he came back.
He stirs awake the next morning to see he had cried himself to sleep while holding on to Saria who is lightly snoring on his neck, he just holds her relishing the feeling of being home for a few hours until she wakes up, the moment she wakes up he started to talk about everything that happened, all his struggles, his fears, his failures, telling Saria all of this is like a balm to his soul, he feels lighter more free, Saria for her part just silently listen to Link unburdens himself she truly feels for him and wants to take all his pain away, hide him away from the dangers of the world, it makes what she has to do even harder but he has been through too much she won't allow them to use him again.
A week passed after he confided in Saria during the week she brought him to a great fairy fountain, the great fairy was able to use her vast healing abilities to help heal his mind from his trauma from his first adventure to his last one, link never questioned why Saria seems to be in a rush to have him fully restored for he trusted she would tell him in time.
"Link you need to leave Hyrule," Saria says abruptly one day.
"Why?" He asked without emotion.
"You are free Link, free from the duty of defending Hyrule, and I want you to remain free so you have to leave or you will regret it," she said.
"Do you want me to go?" He asked her.
"No, but you need to go, you said you wanted to find yourself again, you can't do that here so go build your new life," Saria said then hugged him.
"I will, goodbye Saria," he said then watched as she walked away.
After their goodbye, Link prepared his camp to be ready to leave, he cataloged his items from his adventures, he stops on the only transformation Mask he had left the Fierce Deity Mask, the others have merged with him giving him their natural abilities, knowledge, also including hybrid versions of their true forms, he now can become a powerful Goron Warrior, Watarara royalty, Zora Warrior/Musician, and a Deku Scrub form, he can't destroy or throw away the Fierce Deity mask he is compelled to keep it close at all times, he also carefully sorted the large assortment of weapons, armors, and other items he was given from his friend before he went off to his death.
It takes a few days until he finds a stable portal to another world, he takes a deep breath then walked into the portal.
(Unknown location)
A figure sitting atop a cliff looks over the island he has been forced to call his home for the last thirty years after his defeat, and destruction of his dream, he no longer goes by his birth name, now he is just R the old man.
He feels his wounds ache as the storm continues to rage on, just the reminder of his defeat sends white-hot anger flowing through his veins, suddenly his monstrous Observation Haki picks up something alive in the storm, at the very center of it looking almost serene is a man in dressed in a forest green tunic, thick leather pants, and boots, long golden blonde hair blow around with the storm winds, tribal tattoos accentuate his handsome face, fierce glowing Sapphire blue eyes snap open the man starts to his decent at abnormal speeds, R is sure he is going to crash into the island then suddenly he stops and just floats as if he is flying then lands, R was intrigued by this stranger, and his strange ability so with nothing better to do he decided to observe him for a few days.
(A few weeks later)
R was amazed by the things he has seen this Link character do over the last few weeks; at first Link could not understand the spoken language then he took out this strange blue instrument then played a melody, and then he started to speak the language of the people on the island as if he spoke it his whole life, he had this pouch that seems to hold anything regardless of size, he didn't have any of the currency we used but when he saw a gold exchange office he looked around then slipped into the forest near the town, R followed him where he saw Link pull out a large chest full of treasure out of his fist size pouch, R wished that was the strangest thing he did but the next day tested his sanity, he watched Link buy an old decrepit mansion near to the forest, then Link brought out that blue instrument, and played a melody the effects of this was the complete restoration of the mansion as if it was just built, a terrible storm had raged over the island it was getting dangerous for the older citizens, Link simply went to one of the tallest hilltops then played yet another melody on his blue instrument this one calmed down and dissipated the storm bringing forth blue skies and shining Sun, the sheer power Link has at his disposal was staggering, and he uses it for these mundane things it was infuriating to R to think that this powerful a warrior plans to just waste away here in obscurity, and R knows he is a powerful warrior because R told a few pirates and corrupt marines that a dangerous individual has moved into a mansion on the outskirts of town, that has a hoards of treasure in his house, the greedy bastards rushed off to claim the riches, and were met with resistance. No resistance is the wrong word, they met a monster he annihilated them down to the last man with brutal efficiency, it was beautiful the way he moved the power in each stroke of his sword renders any defense useless, those men were ants before a dragon he just brushed them away like one would rainwater, R knew what it takes to rise to the top of the world, and Link he has what it takes he just needs to motivate in the right direction.
Normally this type of person would already have a set path a way they decided to live but seems lost as if he is only going through the motions, doing what's familiar, and there is the opening if he can gain Link's trust he will be able to create a successor to his ultimate ambition now that he is no longer qualified for it.
So now he has to plan how to approach Link, and gain his trust.
(A month later)
(Link P.O.V.)
It's been interesting being in this new world, the song of learning has always been a useful tool, it made understanding their language very easy, money even easier for they accepted treasure, buying the old mansion was so he was away from people and have his privacy.
The only problem so far has been the men who came to steal and kill me, I tried to reason with them but the moment they drew their weapons I just reacted, I was coherent for all of it and had full control of myself I just didn't care, still don't, my mind sees it as enemy or ally, threatening or non-threatening,
The only thing I felt after they were dead was annoyance at having to dispose of the bodies, it wasn't difficult he just had to pile the bodies and then use a condensed flame arrow to turn them to ash in less than a minute leaving only scorch marks.
I spent time with the older generation on the island hoping to take advantage of the fact old people like to talk and reminisce over their lives, I picked up useful blacksmith tips and techniques from John the old blacksmith, tales of sailing adventures from the Morrison brothers two old retired pirates, I learned far more than I was comfortable with from old man Samuel's wild sex life and seduction skills that he insisted I learn or I'm wasting my God-given gifts, I have to admit that old man knew how to convince people to do what he wants, not that it was completely useless I managed to have the women of the island like me more than before so that was good, I could do without the constant sex offers from the unattached women on the island.
Her name is Susan, no last name, she is said to be in her late thirties but looks to be in her early twenties, she had waist length midnight black hair, flawless caramel coloured skin that felt like the purest silk, alluring purple eyes framed by a angelic face, her body was pure sin, large firm breasts, toned slim waist, wide flaring hips, thick thighs, long toned legs, and a large plump perfectly shaped ass complete her appearance, she wears modest clothing that just doesn't do her body the justice it deserves, and the way she moves her body whenever she does anything, anything at all just consumes the attention of everyone in the vicinity, she outwardly has a shy, reserved personality as if she is completely unaware of the effect she has on others, that was how I was lured in, i ignored several warnings from Samuel and ended up helping her with her bags one day, it started simple enough just a man helping a woman with her bags, after I brought her bags to the house i was invited in for a light lunch as a thank you, i graciously accepted not knowing I just signed away my freedom, even to this day I can't make sense of when she made her move but the next thing I knew was that I was in bed thoroughly exhausted and extremely satisfied, i truly wish I could have said the same for her she lays there beside me for awhile until she said. "You have the best natural attributes I have seen in my life, but you don't know how to truly use it, don't worry everyone gets better with time," it was said so softly as if she was protecting me from a physical blow, she might as well have for his pride as a man took massive amounts of damage that day, and the following days that I tried to one-up my performance, my improvements were not going to happen after just a few days but I couldn't let this go so I made a personal vow to tame the succubus.
Old man R was an anomaly to me, he was tall, well-toned physical body, grey hair showing his age, he has myriad scars running all over, he wore a black overcoat, cotton white shirt, brown leather pants, and leather boots, he had a simple sword strapped to his hip so I assume he has some skill with it, he seems friendly if a bit reclusive not at all threatening, but it's his aura that makes me weary he feels like a massive deadly beast that is simply resting but could be roused in an instant causing devastating damage, and it seems this beast has taken an interest in me, I am not sure of its intentions but R has only ever been nice to me so I should probably hear the man out.
I approached him one day and started to get to know him, R had many interesting stories from his time as a pirate, all the different Islands and countries he visited, the epic battles he won and the one battle he lost that destroyed his crew and his dream, when I had asked why he had wanted that he told me about the world nobles, world government, and the Marines, it was hard to swallow that the people in charge of the world are this cruel and corrupt even the marines who should stand for justice are basically attack dogs for the World Government, sure there are good people among the marine based on what some of the other people on the island said but the absolute justice mindset painting the world in black and white, leaving little room for grey areas, not that the pirates or revolutionary army were angels the most important thing he had pointed out to me was that they all have their darkness not a single one of them was all good or bad, but only one path would give me the freedom to be and do whatever I wanted, whether it was good or bad, it would be my choice and I would be the one to deal with the consequences of my peoples actions.
I agreed with him I would never hand over my freedom again for any reason, but he recommends I start out as a bounty hunter so I get to see how the world works for myself before making a final decision, I agreed to this approach made more sense.
"It's good you have a direction now, but you are not ready to go out to sea yet, especially with us being in the New World sea, there is something essential you still need to learn, follow me," R said, then started walking into the dense forest.
"What do you mean?" Link asked as he follows R.
"I will show you," R replied.
We walked for about thirty minutes until we reached a clearing, once there R walked to a tree broke off a thick branch the attacks Link, he easily destroyed the branch not quite understanding what R is doing, this time when R broke a branch he lifted it up to show Link suddenly the branch was covered with a glossy black substance, R's hand was also covered in it, when he attacks this time Link was unable to destroy it, and the resistance he felt from his blows was absolutely insane from a tree branch.
"What is that?" Link asked R after giving up trying to destroy the branch.
"Haki," R said.
"What is Haki?" Link asks.
"Haki refers to a spiritual force that everyone in the world possesses, yet, it is awakened by a few. Simply put, Haki allows its users to control their spirit in a way in which they can sense the energy of others, and manifest it as an armor. The two most prominent types of Haki are Observation, and Armament Haki. A rarer type, known as Conqueror's Haki, is wielded by one in a million people, and is said to indicate a King's quality in a person." R revealed shocking Link.
"A large number of people in the New World sea uses one or more form of this ability, there are some enemies you can't even touch without Haki, so until you learn Haki you can't leave the island, but I am willing to teach you no point in sending you off to your death unprepared now is there," R offered.
Link absorbed the information making sense of it, he has always been thrust into situations so it would be good to be prepared this time, but there is something about R that bothers him an institutional feeling he seems genuine about teaching me so I will trust him for now but be wary.
"When do we start?" Link asked.
Suddenly a massive force pushed Link close to the ground, he braces himself on his outstretched hand refusing to kneel, he looks up at R who wears a sinister smirk, " Why Link it begins now," with that the pressure from the force doubles, Link's form is shaken just for a moment then settles again, he could not stand but he did not kneel, and as R observed this he only smiled brighter at Links defiance in the face of his Conqueror's Haki.
"We will continue this until you can stand against my Haki on your own two feet," R said as they continue long into the night.
(Three years later)
Boom!!
A fierce storm surges over the island, terrible winds tear down trees and foliage, lighting brings brief illumination to the frigid dark night, no sound can be heard from the heavy downpour of the freezing rain, all inhabitants of the island are hunkered down waiting out the storm, all except two.
Deep in the forest while the storm rages are Link and R lock in intense combat, the blades they are using are coated with their Armament Haki.
After a week of not being able to awaken Haki as R had assumed, R had gotten impatient so when Link was defenseless from his Conqueror's Haki he coated his sword in armament Haki then shoved it through Link's chest missing his heart by inches, this sudden attack shocked Link forcing his Haki to the surface, the awakening of Link's Conqueror's Haki shocked R because of the sheer power of it was staggering, it easily was among the top percentage of Haki R has felt in his life, now he just needs to hone it to truly become unmatched, and R intended to do just that.
Link took to Haki as a fish to water, not even a week went by from awakening that Link was able to call onto his Haki at will, from there Link and R spared against each other with their Conqueror's Haki clashing all the time, they did this for two months then started working on Armament and Observation Haki, Link notably struggled with Observation it took him almost a full year to get all the basics down but once he did he excelled in its mastery, Armament Haki was completely different Link learned to use this almost instantly, he took a week to be able to maintain it on a weapon almost by instinct, he achieved advanced level usage in six months allowing him to fully coat himself in full-body Haki, he gained great proficiency in Ryuuou, and upgraded his basic Armament to a more advanced form, his Conqueror's Haki has also leveled up over the last three years.
Now, as they stand facing each other in the stormy night they understood the unspoken words, R was dying long before he met Link, the last three years spent training Link sped up the time R had left, so he challenged Link to a duel to the death for if he is going to die, he wants a warriors death, Link had understood and fully complied holding nothing back to grant R a grand final battle.
Step by Step, they approach each other, their movements measured and calculated, they both have small wounds littering their bodies from the early parts of the duel, suddenly Link became a blur of movement aimed right at R, the ground he previously stood on shattered with the power of his movement, R anchored his feet blocking the first strike from Link's Lothric Knight greatsword with his sword, Hurricane like winds rip through the forest from the clash of their Haki coated weapons as they continue to exchange blows at insane speeds, the power from their sword strikes carve deep wounds around the area because of this neither are fully blocking either attacks most of the momentum is harmlessly directed away with graceful technique, slowly as the fight dragged on R finds himself on the defensive, maneuvering himself through an onslaught of slashes, stabs, and arcs of lightning from Link's weapon, using his experience from countless battles R managed to remain untouched for the first six seconds of the barrage before he is forced to start blocking the attacks, the blows send tremors through his arms slowly numbing them he cannot continue to block these blows, so with a masterful movement R used Link's momentum against him letting it carry his body forward creating a small opening which R sends a Ryuuou attack at his exposed side the attack hits, and In that same instant R feels a heavy boot plant itself into his chest sending him flying back just like Link from his Ryuuou attack.
"Maybe you should take it easy on me, I am a dying old man after all." R says jokingly to Link, "damn that kid should have been out of the fight after that one or just seriously injured," R thought as he watched Link get back up with his exposed side coated in enhanced armament Haki, "of course, he would use Byogou to block my attack, he doesn't seem unhurt though," he quietly observed Link wiping blood from his lips.
"Dying old man my ass," Link retorts lowly as he spits blood out of his mouth, "that fucking Ryuuou would have killed me, and he wants me to kill him fucking asshole," Link thinks while glaring at the smiling R.
Link launched himself at R resuming the fight, A furious exchange of blows followed, Link with his high soeed flowing blade strokes holding tremendous power, and R with his meticulous precise strikes made with minimalistic movements yet holding deadly destructive power, the fight has fallen back into a stalemate as it has done repeatedly that night, after each successful strike neither opponent leaves any possible opening to exploit due to higher levels of awareness of each other, Link's stamina holds up well in this intense exchange, but the drawn out battle is wearing on R so he makes a drastically different action as opposed to the way he has fought till now, he goes for a horizontal slash Link rolls out of the way coming up behind R he twists bringing his sword to strike R in the back his attack is met with a large Ryuuou attack from R even as Link's blade digs into his side, the resulting attack sends Link flying into a dozen or so trees breaking them down due to the speed his body is sent into them, R stands in the middle of the clearing with deep cut in his side that's bleeding heavily, heavy breaths escape his lungs, he looks to the forest when he hears fallen trees being upturned, a few seconds later a bloody Link walks into the clearing one of his arms hang limp at his side, a large black, blue, and purple bruises cover his now shirtless chest, clear signs of internal bleeding he looks half dead with all the blood, mud, and wood splinters covering him, but he is not defeated his eyes still hold the light of his fierce unbreakable will as he grips a different sword in his hand, it is the Great Fairy Sword the rainbow colors shine into the dark night.
"I really hoped that you died from that one, I really helped to create a monster by teaching you Haki, didn't I? It looks like we're both at our limits so let this be the last one." R said, locking eyes with him, gone was anything other than the fight, hard, sharp, focused, cold, analytical eyes observed every breath, every shift in movement no matter how small, standing before R was a killer void of emotion except the will to live, R understood what happened no longer was he old man R in Link's eyes, he was now R the monster nothing more, and one thing is true for Link that has never changed, Link does not talk with monsters, Link does not sympathize with monsters, Link simply kills monsters with no hesitation or doubt, and that is who R is now facing.
R gets ready for the final round, he starts gathering all of his monstrous Haki into his blade, the blade hums to life at the intensity of R's Haki a purple aura comes to life around the blade, his intention is wildly broadcasted by the Haki from his sword sending a feeling of death to all the inhabitants of the island.
Link's manifested his own monstrous Haki into his blade, his blade hums to life with a transitioning aura of red, green, blue, and gold, his Haki was flaring the feeling of a cold, detached void as if all life has faded away.
Their Haki flares against each other yet neither made a move, a flash of lightning and they were off, the ground they were both standing on simply didn't exist anymore, their blades met with earth-shattering force, the myriad colors of their Haki and auras intertwining together into a pillar of pure power that obscured their bodies from sight, slowly the light from the pillar died down leaving them in the same position as before, suddenly R's form crumbled, he fell down on the ground blood flowing from numerous new wounds, he coughed up blood then looked up at Link's now unnatural features, his eyes changed to resemble a Fishman, his teeth were now similar to a shark, he had gills on his neck.
"That was cruel, hiding an ability like that just to pull it out now, you nee-" his words were cut off as Link in his Zora hybrid form shoved the Great Fairy Sword right through his chest piercing his heart ending his life right there.
"The only rules that matter are these, what a man can do, and what a man can't do. You said those words to me so I listened for there is no reason for me to lose a fight when there is an obvious path to win," Link said without emotion.
Link observed R's lifeless corpse with indifference, he reviewed the last moments of the fight, Link knew that in pure strength of Haki he could not overwhelm R so he chose not to when their blades and Haki clashed the resulting vortex of power washed over both their senses creating a small window of opportunity that he made full use of, calling upon his Zora form he used water manipulation to weaponize the rain turning them into tiny blades that pierced R's body making it give out before his Haki did, granting Link his victory.
(A few days later)
After the fight Link healed his injuries, then cleaned up R's body to bury him at sea as he had requested, Link carried the body to a small boat on a deserted, and isolated shore he loaded up the body with a few of R's friends, they drunk, told stories, and had a good time, they set the boat out at sea at sunset Link used a fire arrow to light it on fire, when it was all over everyone went home including Link, when he opened the door to his home he is met with the breathtaking view of Susan in a purple open robe, with erotic lace underwear, she was wearing a lustful look on her face, but her eyes held a deep understanding for what he was truly feeling.
"There is no need to talk I get it, just join me in bed darling and let it go," she says in an uncharacteristically serious voice.
Link had become her lover over the last three years, so it was common to find her in his home when she chose to stay the night, Link walked to her pulling her into a passionate kiss, he cupped her ass lifting her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist, he made his way to the master bedroom without stopping the kiss, choosing to lose himself in Susan for the night.
(The next morning)
They lay awake in a tangle of limbs after an amazing night of pleasure.
"I have to say you are a master of all that you do, you most definitely are a master at using your God-given gifts now," Susan said breathlessly, even after an amazing night, then the round they had as woke up an hour ago, she is impressed he is now the best lover she has ever had no question.
Link wore a smug grin on his face, he heard something similar from a few other lovers he had over the last three years, it felt extremely satisfying to hear it from the woman who started him on this path so that he could avenge his pride she destroyed.
"Well, I aim to please now don't I," Link said smugly.
"Hahaha indeed you do," Susan said with a laugh.
The bedroom descended into a comfortable silence.
"So, you are leaving?" She asked.
"Yes, I am. I always was going to leave, just had to make the necessary arrangements before I could," he replied.
"Yeah, I always knew you were a free spirit, I knew I had to let you go eventually," she said.
"You could come with me, see the world," he offered.
"That's nice of you, but we both know I'm not the one for you darling, I can't love another man after my husband died so we would not work for you deserve to be loved, so find yourself a woman or hell a bunch of them, and live your life to the fullest don't spend it on an old widow," she said seriously, looking into his eyes.
"Ok, I will Susan, now though," he flips himself over her body and started planting kisses over her body, causing her to moan, "I plan to spend our last days together in amazing pleasure," he thrusts into her causing her to scream in pleasure while clawing at his back.
"Yes, this is the best way to spend our time together." She said seductively.
(A few days later)
Link said his goodbyes to everyone, he left his mansion to Susan despite her protests, he boards a merchant vessel making itself to another island in the new world, he was excited to start his adventures as he sits in his cabin on the ship.