He had done it. The young man from Ordon Village had accomplished what the Ancient Sages and the Forgotten Hero had failed to do so long ago: the defeat of Ganondorf, and the sealing of the eternal evil he represented. The Shade of the Forgotten Hero had little doubt that the boy would succeed, as he not only had the princess of the Twilight Realm at his side, but hidden skills of swordsmanship that the Shade had spent centuries perfecting as well. In fact, the young man had used one of the Shade's first techniques to strike the killing blow to the King of Evil.
While the Hero's Shade had succeeded in defeating Ganondorf in his youth, he had still died with many regrets, one of them being the fact that he never had an heir to pass on the techniques and skills he had with a blade to. This regret was now eased, but the Shade still remained within the world. The Shade had felt a need to watch over the new Hero of Twilight as he returned to his home village, but he wasn't sure why. He had already said his goodbyes to the hero, and the hero could very easily defend himself from any of the wood's dangers, so why was he still trailing him as a golden wolf?
'I suppose I've always been cursed with curiosity.' the Shade mused to himself.
When the village came into view, the Shade simply kept to the edges of the forest. While he only had one good eye, it also happened to be the one he aimed with, so the Shade wouldn't have to be extremely close to see what was going to happen. He watched as the young hero entered the village, who was immediately met with all of its inhabitants. The children laughed and cried out the hero's name as the adults guided the hero's horse to the village center.
And yet among all the smiling and waving, the Shade could sense that something was subtly bothering the hero. He could see it in the hero's posture, in the hero's eyes: grief. The feeling of losing a friend, a companion who had been with the hero since the start. It was a feeling the Shade knew all too well.
But unlike his own companion, the Shade knew why the Princess of Twilight had to leave. Her realm needed a leader, and she wouldn't be able to survive in a world of light forever. But as much as the Shade tried to rationalize it, as much as he thought 'He'll move on', he knew that this kind of pain would linger in the hero for a long time, possibly for the rest of his days. And at least in the hero's case, he was still surrounded by those he cared for, such as those small children he saved, and that one girl. The Shade never got her name, but she seemed important to the hero. They would all make it worth it in the end.
The Shade then returned to his true form, a skeletal warrior, before clutching at his chest. 'What is this feeling?' he thought to himself. Anger? Jealousy? Aimed at the Hero of Twilight? That couldn't be right. He was sure he had already dealt with these feelings of regret long ago, both in the fields of Termina and with the training of the hero. The Shade took one last look at Ordon Village before making his way deeper into the forest.
The Shade eventually came upon a small clearing surrounded by short trees, before unsheathing his sword. After walking into the middle of the clearing, the Shade planted his armored feet and shifted into a guarding position. Normally the Shade would travel back to the plane between worlds in order to practice, but he hoped that the atmosphere of the forest would calm him.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, the Shade swiped upward before swinging from one way, then suddenly striking the other way. He then returned to his previous guarding position. He imagined himself surrounded by foes, striking at one before impaling another. One swing left, a jab to the right. He leapt forward to strike, before quickly shuffling back. After shifting back and forth into various forms of attack, the Shade finally leapt backwards before leaping forward with a hollow warcry. The Shade then unleashed a great spin attack before finally stopping his exercise.
The Shade looked around him. Almost all the trees on the edge of the clearing were covered in deep gashes, with several of the smaller trees lying on the ground, having been cleaved. The Shade simply shook his head before walking away. The sun was starting to set by the time the Shade came upon a small lake. Along the lake were several old stumps of trees. The Shade moved to one of the stumps that were closest to the lake before plunging his sword into the dirt. He then sat on the remains of the tree stump, his spectral armor barely making a sound. The hour of twilight had arrived.
The Shade stared at the lake as the light of the setting sun split among the trees and fell onto the water. As the Shade continued to stare, the light on the lake seemed to shift from abstract shapes to blurred images. For a moment, the Shade thought he saw a little girl sitting on a stump of her own, playing an instrument of some kind. The images then swirled into a fury of orange and yellow, showing a mighty stone man that appeared to be dancing to a jolly melody. The images then calmed, and coiled into deeper shades of purple as a blue woman swam among the colors. The lake then seemed to shift into a dark violet, before exploding into rays as golden as desert sand.
"ENOUGH!" the Shade cried out as he clutched his helmed face.
The lake was normal once again. The world was silent, as even the birds stopped singing. The Shade took a deep breath, more so out of habit then necessity, before standing up, pulling his blade from the earth, and walking away from the shore.
As the Shade sheathed his blade, he stopped in his tracks. Something was strange about his own shadow. Not only was it more prominent, but it seemed to increase in length, as if the sun itself had settled right behind him. The rest of the forest seemed to be covered in a layer of gold for a moment, before returning to its original pigments and hues. The Shade recognized the signs. Without turning around, he sighed and asked "What do you wish of me now, Goddess?"