"Sheikah Tower activated. Please watch for falling rocks."
Link stared at the message on the slate's screen for a second before the ground at his feet began shaking. He nearly lost his balance and tumbled onto the floor, but he managed to catch himself by grabbing onto the pedestal on which the slate had been inserted into. Before he knew it, the slightly elevated platform that he was standing on shot up into the sky so quickly that it left him with vertigo.
The rapid ascension had only lasted a few seconds at most, but that was more than enough time for Link to go from confused, to surprised, shellshocked, and then just plain nauseous. It felt like hours before the explosive rumbling calmed, and even more before his teeth stopped chattering from the vibrations.
It was simple luck that he had been standing below the pointed roof of the platform-If he had been caught on the outer edges, then he doubted that he could have been able to stay on. More likely, he would have rolled off and fell hundreds of meters onto the ground and promptly broken his neck. If not, then one of the aforementioned falling rocks would have smashed into him, breaking his ribcage.
Link rose unsteadily and looked around him, unpleasantly surprised to see that he was now much higher than he should be, stuck on a tower without any stairs. Before he could ponder his situation, a sharp blue glow caught his attention-Above the Sheikah Slate, a pointed rock had lit up, with bright hieroglyphics flowing downwards into a Sheikah symbol.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the glowing stopped. A single radiant drop of some sort of liquid fell from the rock, directly into the slate positioned right below it. Link quickly drew closer to it and saw that the screen had lit up.
Like magic, an image formed out of the dark blue landscape that had previously filled its screen. Link recognized it almost immediately-A map, and an incredibly detailed one at that. Before, only the markers for the shrine and himself were discernible. Now, there were illustrations of forests, mountains, hills, lakes, rivers… Much of it was labeled as well.
'The bodies of water are colored blue. I guess the Sheikah didn't expect for them to all be drained, huh?'
He took the slate out of the pedestal. Just under the newly unveiled map, a small text box was displayed. It read: "Regional map extracted."
"Link." Zelda spoke in his mind just as he finished reading the sentence. Somehow, he seemed to be able to feel her in his mind even before she began speaking. Her presence felt familiar, comfortable. If he closed his eyes he could have even fooled himself into thinking all of this was just a nightmare, and that he was still escorting the princess around Hyrule. "You have been asleep for the past two hundred years."
Link felt his jaw drop at her abrupt message. But before he could even begin to comprehend what she had just told him, she continued.
"The beast… If Ganon can be allowed to spread further, then this world will soon face its end. Now then… You must hurry, Link. Before it grows even stronger. Please." Zelda muttered the last part in almost a whisper, and he felt her begin to leave his mind.
"Zeld-Wait!" He shouted, shouted louder than he ever had, with pure panic and desperation in his voice. He felt lost, confused. Nothing made sense. Two hundred years? Two hundred years? He could feel his heart stop as those words ran through his mind again and again. Two hundred years. 200. Two centuries. Several generations.
It couldn't be true. It couldn't.
"Link… I'm sorry."
He flinched as her voice rang through his mind once more, this time loud and clear. She spoke as if every word pained her, as if every word was a stab with a rusty dagger.
"Please, princess." Link rasped. He rubbed his hand against the front of his neck, wincing at how it stung from his shout. Combined with the rancid air of the Calamity, it felt as if his throat had been scalded. Each word burned, but he pressed on. He needed to talk. If not then, then now. "What happened? Tell me. Tell me."
"I… No, I couldn't. My father, he will-"
"Your father? The king? So you know that he's ali-"
"Goodbye, for now, Link." Zelda said sadly.
Link wanted to object, to say something, but it was too late. He felt her leave him and that moment, he thought that he's never felt more lonely in his entire life. The previously warm air around him dropped in temperature and all he could seem to focus on was the monstrous pillar that used to be Hyrule Castle.
'Two hundred years.' Link shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. He kept staring at the tower of malice as his mind grappled with that concept. Two hundred years. Had he really been so injured that it took that long for him to recover?
It was pitiful. The chosen Hero of Time, wielder of the Master Sword, and what had he done when Calamity Ganon arrived and duty called? Why, he had ran away of course. Ran away with his tail tucked behind his legs while countless numbers of men decidedly more worthy than himself sacrificed themselves to aid in his cowardice.
He hadn't even fled correctly. In the end, he still failed. To Guardians. It wasn't even Ganon who felled him. No, it was just a group of Guardians.
And then he just slept for two hundred years. Slept while all this happened. Slept while Hyrule was destroyed.
For two hundred years.
Two hundred damned years.
'She should have just let me die.' Link thought bitterly. 'At least then, a worthy reincarnation of the Hero would have been born.'
Well, she didn't let him die. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts to only partial success. Like it or not, he still had a job to do. Like it or not, he had been chosen by the sword. That meant that he wouldn't- couldn't fall to Ganon again. He had to save Princess Zelda. He had to.
He looked around and saw that there were three gaping holes on the platform that were partially fenced off by bronze gates. Two of them seemed to be completely blocked with debris, but the last one was clear. He looked down it, expecting to see a large drop. But instead, there was a small platform, no more than a few meters away.
Furthermore, the walls of the tower weren't smooth like he expected-There were large ridges all over the sides of the tower. It was almost like…
'Almost like they were designed to be climbed?' Link wondered, crouching down as he prepared to climb down the tower. He turned his body around and let his feet down to find one of the ridges to hook onto, gripping onto the ledge in the meanwhile. Once satisfied that he had a proper grip on the tower, he began descending down.
Climbing had always been a wonderful hobby for him. It was tiresome, slow-paced, and by the end of it his hands were always sore. And yet, he couldn't help but just feel relaxed whenever he climbed. It was almost indescribable, the feeling of slow ascent… or descent. He was always left with plenty of time to think in a truly isolated environment, forgetting his worries and duties and for once just being at peace.
Of course, that was then. Two hundred years ago.
He had almost managed to forget about the horrid stench and acidic taste of the air while up in the tower. Now, it felt like his lungs were being stabbed with every breath he took. The air got thicker and thicker as he got lower and lower, and as a consequence, the musk of malice and smoke just got stronger. His limbs, which still hadn't recovered from the utter atrophy that came from his time in the shrine, were much quicker to tire. He had to stop and rest every single minute, it seemed.
Eventually though, he made his way to the bottom without falling down. As soon as his feet touched the bare earth, a flash of blue flames appeared almost directly in front of him. He blinked rapidly and scrubbed at his eyelids with the back of his hands. When he opened his eyes again, he was only mildly surprised to see King Rhoam standing before him.
Link began to kneel, but an outstretched hand from the king motioned for him to stop. "I've told you once already, haven't I? There's no need for you to bow to me any longer."
He frowned but stood back up. "I spoke with Princess Zelda. She said that I've been asleep for two hundred years. How…?"
'How are you alive?" Was what he wanted to ask. But before he could get the question out of his mouth, an answer came to him. His strange demeanor. The blue flames. Could it be because he was a…
"... I see. So, she's informed you of what happened then?" King Rhoam asked.
"No. She said that you would explain." Link said curtly. "Please do."
He frowned and stared at him silently, appearing to be gathering his thoughts. After what must have been an eternity, he finally sighed and nodded. "To be truthful, the memories of what happened pains me, even now. Two hundred years gave me a long time to reflect. There was much I could have done, as a king, as a leader, as a… father."
He turned to face the Calamity's landmark. Link followed his gaze-Was it his imagination, or had it grown since he'd first seen it? "As you fell in battle, I.. well, I had passed myself. As you must have realised by now, I am but a trapped spirit."
"The Great Calamity. It was… merciless. In what must have been mere moments, it had destroyed everything around Hyrule Castle, stealing our Guardians, stealing our Divine Beasts. Villages were burnt, townspeople killed." He closed his eyes and grimaced. "It would have doubtless ravaged all of Hyrule then and there, were it not for my daughter. Zelda."
Link's heart jolted as he said her name.
"I know not of the details, but after putting you to rest, she traveled to Hyrule Castle by herself. Many a Guardian stood in her way, but as you must know, her powers had awakened by then. Those machines were no match for the Goddess' light. As she reached the gates of the castle itself, Ganon came out to meet her. And using Hylia's powers, she trapped it. Trapped it… and herself, in the castle. There, they stood imprisoned for over a hundred years."
"Over a hundred years...?" Link muttered. He could scarcely imagine it. For so long, the princess had been locked with the Calamity? Alone?
He nodded gravely. "Yes. For over a century, they stood locked in battle. It was enough time for Hyrule to recover, somewhat. Settlements were rebuilt, towns repopulated. Without a unifying sovereign however, the differing races mostly kept to themselves. Either way, it seemed for a while that the worst had passed."
King Rhoam shook his head. "But Ganon… Ganon is a powerful and cunning beast. I know not how, but it gained the upper hand against my daughter. Perhaps it launched an unstoppable attack at her. Perhaps it tricked her with strange hallucinations and nightmares. Perhaps my daughter simply ran out of power. It matters not. One day, it was as if a dam broke. Oceans of malice flooded Hyrule Castle, overflowing the moats and spreading to the mainland. Then the next day, all of Hyrule field was covered in the vile filth. Dark, brooding clouds began to appear, covering the sun and darkening our days. The only moments where the clouds receded were during the late nights, where they retreated to reveal the moon, which had been transformed into an evil shade of red."
"I don't recall when exactly, but one day, a thin spike of malice appeared, rising out of the ruins of Hyrule Castle. It was thin, and tall enough to pierce the clouds." He sighed tiredly. "Ever since then, it only grew bigger and bigger. Thin tendrils came to drain the earth and feed the Calamity. For another century, it only grew and grew. I had practically given up hope of you returning. Why, when I saw you, I had thought that you were simply another wandering spirit!" He laughed, though it sounded forced.
"Link… Considering that I could not save my own kingdom, I have no right to ask this of you. But my daughter still lives. I imagine she's still trapped in Hyrule Castle. You must save her. And do whatever it takes to stop Ganon from spreading even further." He finished, staring at Link expectantly.
'But how?!' He wanted to scream. 'I don't have any weapons. The other champions were killed. The Guardians and Divine beasts have been corrupted. I can barely even breathe!'
But he didn't scream. He couldn't. He only nodded, a tight lipped frown being the only indicator of his troubles.
King Rhoam swept his arm in a wide arc over the Great Plateau. "There are several shrines that you must visit. This tower isn't the only Sheikah structure that you've awakened, you know. Inside of each shrine, you will find tools that will aid you on your quest. Go Link, and gather them. When you are finished, travel to the Temple of Time. There, I will give you one last parting gift."
Link followed his gaze and saw one of the shrines that he was talking about. It was glowing a sharp orange, which stood out against the background of grey and purple that seemed to have taken over the land.
He didn't have time to waste. Without a goodbye or word otherwise, he started after the shrine.