It really wasn't that bad.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself. It was a necessary lie, one that helped keep her sane over the long, long years.
Sure, the Calamity constantly taunted her and plagued her dreams and thoughts with nightmarish visions. Sure, she could literally feel her powers draining while Ganon's power rose. Sure, everyone she ever knew and loved (link except for link don't forget link) was dead. But surely, surely Ganon wouldn't win, right? In all of the Legends, no matter how grim it got, Ganon would always lose, would always be sealed away. Link would seal it away.
She told herself that over and over again. For the past two hundred years, whenever doubts started creeping into her mind, she would just tell herself: Link will awaken. Over and over again, she would think those three simple words.
So she didn't give up, even while Ganon began to break free. She didn't give up, even while Hyrule Castle was devoured by malice. She didn't give up, even while watching the kingdom- Her kingdom become irreversibly scarred.
Her powers were only a fraction of what it once was. With every passing day, she could feel Hylia tire, weaken. At the same time, Ganon stayed frighteningly persistent, ravaging against her binds with the ferocity of a Lynel. Really, it was surprising that she lasted as long as she did.
Zelda's powers of sealing, once so effective as a tool of imprisonment had been forcibly changed with time, into a shielding cocoon. She wouldn't admit it, but at this point, she was nothing compared to the Calamity. Even if she sacrificed her own body, which was still in stasis somewhere in the physical world, and focused everything she had left into attacking Ganon, it wouldn't result in anything more than a slight annoyance.
No, all she could do for now was wait. Wait, and hope that Ganon wouldn't penetrate her own defenses.
She smiled. By now, waiting wasn't much of an issue anyway.
She was right. Link did wake up. He was here. He'd even spoken with her. She knew without a single doubt in her mind that he would prevail. Somehow, in someway, he would win.
'Link will win.'
There weren't any monsters.
Link stopped and looked around him, for the first time noticing that fact. It had taken a while, but he managed to enter all of the shrines that had popped up on the Great Plateau. It was… a unique experience, to say the least. Large, expansive underground chambers that were completely free of malice, and with air that was so cold and crisp that he had nearly choked on it. Each one gave the Sheikah Slate some sort of new function, whether it would be a way to create endless numbers of bombs, or suspend objects in midair, or something else just as inane.
There were also puzzles-Lots and lots of puzzles. He wondered if these shrines were possibly meant for Princess Zelda. He was using her slate after all, and she was definitely the type to enjoy all of these elaborate puzzles.
And at the end of it all? Ancient, shriveled up monks who all said the same thing to him:
"I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon. With your arrival, my duty is now fulfilled. In the name of Goddess Hylia, allow me to bestow this gift upon you… Please accept this Spirit Orb.
May the Goddess smile upon you."
They would then disintegrate into green particles, vanishing into the air as if they were never there to begin with. And as for the 'Spirit Orbs' they gave him? They were nothing special, at least as far as he could see. They looked like simple marbles, the size of mere pebbles and completely featureless aside for a purple hue. Of course, Link wasn't a fool-He was sure that they held some purpose, being gifts from Hylia herself. It was just a little strange to him that they were so nondescript.
It wasn't as if they were cumbersome anyhow, so he just resolved to carry them in a small pouch. They were light, making it easy to forget that he even had them in the first place.
Link gripped his broadsword tightly. It was a rusty old thing, weak and fragile from so many years of neglect. The only reason why it still held was likely because it had been stashed an an airtight chest, away from the corrosive malice. Still though, it wasn't likely to survive more than a few exchanges.
Not that it mattered too much though, due to the apparent lack of even a single bokoblin.
It unnerved him somewhat-With the Calamity running rampant, he figured that there would be more of them, not less. As he walked up the steps to the Temple of Time, he took care to hold a defensive stance, in the case that there were some hiding inside of the building.
But there weren't any. Not even a trace.
Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword and looked around. King Rhoam had told him to-
"Link! I see that you've arrived." Startled, Link jumped and looked around him for the source of the sudden outburst. "Above you, Sir Knight."
He glanced up and surely enough, the king was standing on the roof of the temple. He was easy enough to spot, as the ceiling was nearly completely desecrated. Without sparing a single moment, Link walked to a nearby pillar and began climbing up.
It was somewhat of a shame to see the temple in such a deteriorated state. No malice had snuck its way inside, though he suspected that Hylia herself had something to do with that. The thick veins of malice that stretched out through the lands practically swerved away from the temple, giving it an exceedingly wide berth as if it would burn if they touched.
It was just a small building, worn down by time, but it was still a holy place. And so, the Calamity avoided it on pure instinct, it seemed. If Ganon still feared her touch, then perhaps there was hope after all.
With one last heave, he lifted himself to the roof of the temple. King Rhaom was waiting patiently for him, standing in front of a wooden chest with his arms by his sides. He nodded to Link as he approached him, looking grim and serious.
"Link. The time has come for you to truly begin your quest. The Calamity is a treacherous foe, but I have no doubt of your abilities." He said. "Here, I have the last of what I can offer you. With this, you will be able to safely navigate out of the Great Plateau."
Link kneeled down to open the chest. In it was a small paraglider-Link found himself surprised that he recognized it so quickly. He's never used one before, and have only seen it in action once or twice by some of the Sheikah. It had a sturdy wooden frame and was made out of a surprisingly soft fabric.
As he took it out, he noticed one more thing in the chest-The paraglider had been resting on top of a familiar looking doublet, the same one that King Rhoam had used to store the baked apples, back when he initially awoken.
King Rhaom noticed his inquisitive stare and nodded at it. "It won't offer much in the form of protection, but should you ever be exposed to harsher conditions, it will do well to protect you from the elements."
"Thanks." Link said simply.
"It's the least I can do. Truly." King Rhoam said. "Now… I suggest that you make your way east, to Kakariko Village. I can not ascertain as to whether or not the village has held up to the Calamity, but the Sheikah are a resilient bunch. I'm sure that if they were forced to abandon the village, that they would have left a message of some kind for you. Do you remember the way there?"
Link nodded. "It's just beyond the Dueling Peaks."
"Right you are. In anycase, if you need a reminder, the location will be marked on your map. There are other towers that you have awakened through your actions-They will help you restore your map entirely, though I fear that you may have trouble finding your way to their tops." He stopped and took a breath, and suddenly it seemed as if he had aged twenty years.
"Now then… I've told you everything I can. The Sheikah will tell you more about the path that lies ahead, should you hold any unanswered questions." Without any warning, he began to vanish. His figure turned transparent, and the blue flames circling him dissipated into ambers that were barely visible. "Link… You must save… Hyrule."
Link could only stare in shocked awe as he vanished completely. It was as if he were never there.
Paragliding was, to say the least, an exhilarating experience.
He was never one to shy away from heights, being an avid climber himself. Even so, he couldn't help but feel his heart drop as he looked down and saw a drop that would most certainly kill him. His anxiety only deepened as he looked up and realized truly that his fate rested with a glider that could have been older than him.
Thankfully, he managed to land with little trouble. While holding on to the paraglider strained his arms, his legs were left perfectly capable to carry his weight again as he touched the ground. He landed outside of the plateau, just in front of the Dueling Peaks.
He took exactly five steps in that direction before his left foot landed directly on a pulsating vein of malice.
With almost no resistance, his foot sunk right through it and for a second, he felt nothing but an icy coldness that chilled him to the bone. Then, reality sank in and Link began cursing profusely. He pulled his leg out as quickly as he could and sat down on the dead grass below him.
Using the butt of his sword, he shoved the now hole-ridden boot off his foot. It was covered in large specks of purple sludge, which were eating away at the fabric like it was tissue paper. Dirty smoke began to rise from it, prompting Link to toss it as far away as he could. It was useless now.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to look down at his foot. He let out a breath of relief as he saw that the damages weren't as bad as he thought. The boot had protected it from most of the damage, though there were some ugly red splotches painting his skin, which were starting to sting in the rancid air. Other than that, there seemed to be no other wounds, thank Hylia.
He stood up and began cutting down a surplus of the dead grass, favoring his uninjured foot and taking extra care to not step on any more malice. He bundled and tied some together to make a makeshift rope, and used the rest to form a sort of cast for his foot. He tied the cast together with the rope, triple knotting it to ensure that it wouldn't become loose.
The cast itched horribly and wouldn't help much in the way of the malice, but at least it was something. Better than going barefoot, in anycase.
Figures that no more than a few minutes after being left on his own, he would do something stupid and nearly incapicitate himself. If he'd been a second or two later on pulling his foot out, then he might have had to make a pair of crutches, rather than a singular grass boot.
He started towards the Dueling Peaks once more, grimacing at how uneven his steps felt now. Despite the Calamity's destruction, there remained reminders of the kingdom that once resided. Old, torn banners, lining unpaved paths. Ruins of vaguely familiar outposts. Hole-ridden bridges. And most striking of all, deadened remains of Guardians.
Link passed by those as quickly as he could, barely sparing a glance. Just looking at them made him feel sick. Not for the first time, he wondered why the sword had picked him of all people.
'Even if I had the sword, would it still recognize me as worthy?' He wondered. The idea brought a bitter taste to his mouth. Before being appointed as the princess's knight, he had been senseless in life, an orphan with no true calling. He had only been a soldier because that's what everyone expected of him. He was good with a sword, so what else would he be?
Really, he could have been just as content with being a bard, or a chef, or anything else really. It just so happened that he was skilled enough to beat the entire Royal Guard at swordplay. And of course, his father was a skilled soldier too, before he passed. Still though, he never really cared all too much about his occupation.
Then, he had saved the princess from a stray Guardian shot.
Then, he was called to attempt the pulling of the Master Sword.
Then, he was appointed as the princess's personal knight.
Then, he was given purpose in life.
It had all happened so fast. In less than a week, his entire life had been overhauled and he had gone from simply a skilled soldier, to the Hero of Hyrule, the chosen one, Princess Zelda's guard. He had become fit to bear the name Link. It was almost nauseating how quickly it was decided that he was one of the most important people in Hyrule.
And how quickly it had all gone downhill.
The second tower was, just as the other one had been, extremely tall. Still though, it was comparatively nothing in comparison to the two peaks that it stood in front of.
Even so, it was still a long climb. If there weren't platforms that provided opportunities to rest, he would have likely lost his grip and fell, not even three quarters of the way up.
Link looked down from the peak of the tower, marvelling at how far up he was. The tower was rooted next to the Squabble River, which had been run completely dry by the Malice. Was it possible that every river and lake in Hyrule had been reduced to pits of mud? It seemed unfathomable. But several hours had passed since his awakening, and he had traveled far-There has yet to be a single drop of water in sight.
He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was thirsty.
Shaking the thought away from his head, he backed up from the ledge and turned to the pedestal, which stood at the middle of the tower. He placed the Sheikah Slate in it and watched as, just like before, a drop of something was produced to be absorbed by the slate. He took it out of the pedestal and sure enough, the visible map had been increased tremendously. Additionally, a new function seemed to have been added to the slate-something called a Sheikah Sensor. By its description, apparently he would be able to detect shrines near him with it.
As he examined the new map, he noticed something interesting. The towers and shrines were all marked with blue symbols, and when he tapped on them, an option popped up asking him if he wanted to travel. Experimentally, he tried the option and-
Light. Bright, blue, brilliant light.
He was weightless and flying and glowing and all he could see was...
Light.
Then just as quickly as the light appeared, it began to dim. Darker and darker it became until finally...
Link blinked and looked around him. He had travelled approximately five paces backwards, which made sense as he selected to travel to the Dueling Peaks Tower-which he was already on.
As he finished this thought, he looked down at his hands and saw they were shaking like leaves in the wind. He let loose a shuddering breath and it took a good five seconds before he realized what had just happened. It felt as if he had touched the tip of a shock arrow right after going swimming. Every hair on his body was raised and though it was warm, he was completely numb.
'I guess that does that...' Link thought to himself, looking around once more. It was apparent that he had transported instantly to a different location, though he just shifted by a small distance. If he had picked one of the shrines he went in earlier, then could it be that he would teleport there just as quickly? It seemed bizzarre to think about, but with all of the other technologies the Sheikah had developed... why not? He was only thankful that he didn't have to do it again. The sensation had worn off quickly-he could actually feel his fingers now-but it had been extremely unpleasant.
With only the slightest bit of hesitation, he jumped out of the tower and pulled out his paraglider. It opened properly and held his weight fine, but he could only wonder how many times he could do this before something went wrong. Something always went wrong, it was just a matter of when. Still though, he couldn't deny that the act of gliding in itself felt quite liberating, despite how anxious it made him.
He landed right at the center in between the Dueling Peaks. Looking up, he could barely see the sky-Most of the peaks were blocking his view. But from what little he could see, it was apparent that the moon was full. And that it was red.
"The only moments where the clouds receded were during the late nights, where they retreated to reveal the moon, which had turned to an evil shade of red."
King Rhoam had mentioned that, didn't he? Looking at it now, he couldn't help but feel unnerved. Was Ganon's power truly so great that it extended to celestial bodies? As he said, the storming and crackling clouds that filled the sky during the day had more or less vanished. The only source of light now was that moon, so bright and red. It tinted everything around him.
Without warning, someone entered his mind. A familiar presence. A friendly presence.
"Princess?" He whispered quietly.
"Link… Be on your guard." She said, worrisome fear clear in her voice. "During the dark hours of the night, Ganon's power grows. It rises to its peak at witching hour. By the blood moon's glow, the malice that taints this land will produce spirits of monsters once slain. Link… please be careful."
Just as quickly as she appeared, she vanished. He felt a pang of hurt-He wanted desperately to talk to her. He needed to know so many things that it would have been impossible to list all of his questions. But though he wished for answers, he knew that-
He stopped walking and looked sharply to his left. There, along the face of one of the peaks, the veins of the Calamity were present. They clung to its walls, pulsating and twitching just as every other vein had. Now though, it was bubbling. Boiling. It shook and trembled, as if an earthquake was happening.
Link drew his sword just as an endless fountain of bones spewed forth from it, falling to the ground just in front of him. There must have been thousands of individual bones, horns, and claws, piling up and spreading throughout the empty river. It was a horrible cacophony, as if someone had gathered hundreds of pebbles into a closed pot and started shaking it.
There were skulls too-Bokoblin skulls, Moblin skulls, even Lizalfos skulls were mixed in there. They bounced about, and it soon became apparent that the bones were attaching themselves to them, slowly forming fully fledged skeletons.
Finally, the strips of malice ceased its production of bones. At the same time, the first skeleton finished forming. It was the skeleton of a Lizaflos, and it was holding a spear that was made entirely out of bone fragments.
It looked at Link.
Then, it raised its spear at him and charged.