This was it. The day I've been dreading since Gilda told me what was to happen. The dawn of the final day has come, and I was up and out to the ranch early today. Gilda was up too, much to my surprise, and decided to join me at the ranch today. On the way there, Gilda proposed an odd question.
"Hey, Link… what if I told you you've already saved Hyrule and met Princess Zelda several times now?" Gilda asked. I had to laugh at that.
"Oh really? How would you know that?" I asked, amused. Though I couldn't deny that explains why riding and taming Epona felt so natural.
"Same way I know what happens in this part of the timeline. While every hero who slays Ganon is named Link, I'm just gonna be referring to them by their titles. So like, Hero of Sky for your very first incarnation, or Hero of Time for the version of you that toyed with time itself and created three versions of Hyrule through time shenanigans." She explained. It took a bit to wrap my head around that. So I split the timeline into three versions? A little difficult to believe, but I could see something like that happening if I got my hands on some form of time travel.
"So… which one am I?" I asked curiously.
"The Hero of Twilight." She answered. Understandably she seems a bit tight lipped about what my quest will involve. I suppose I'd have to ask about what I want to know.
"And why that title?" I asked. She shrugged.
"It's… a bit convoluted, but there's this prison realm that Hyrule used to send users of dark magic to. It's called the Twilight Realm. The people that live there now are so used to perpetual Twilight that any kind of direct light on them is deadly." She explained as we sat down at the ranch. I usually just sat around at the ranch until Fado needed my help corralling the goats to the barn. So it gave Gilda and I a good opportunity to chat.
"So that's involved, then?" I questioned. Gilda nods.
"Yep. They've got a new king who usurped their throne. Zant is the guy currently galavanting around with Ganon's power and bringing Hyrule to its knees. He's kind of a psychotic nutjob, honestly." She starts to grin. "I just find it funny that in your final showdown with him, he starts throwing a temper tantrum like a child cuz he can't beat you."
I had to laugh, glad to hear that I'll eventually be able to beat him. Granted, it'll probably take a while, but still. "Well, thanks for telling me something at least. Knowing everything will be okay in the end… it just makes everything seem worth it."
"Don't forget, you still have to try your best. You won't save Hyrule by going easy." I was warned. Gilda definitely had a point there.
"A fair point." I conceded. "In any case, now you've got me curious. How did this cycle of reincarnation start anyway?"
"Oh, that? That's because of the Hero of Sky. The First Link saved the world when he struck down the Demon King Demise. Unfortunately for you and everyone else, Demise was a sore fucking loser and used his dying breath to transform all of his hatred into a living being, cursing you and Zelda to endlessly reincarnate with it until the end of all of creation. Ganon is just Demise but mortal. Kinda." Gilda summarized. I had to laugh at the way she put it.
"Well, I suppose that's one way of putting it. I guess I just wish I could meet them, or maybe at least remember some of them. I'm sure most of them were better trained in sword fighting than I was." I lamented.
"Actually… you're going to meet the Hero of Time in person." Gilda said. If I'd been having a drink, I would have spit it out that instant. I looked at her, jaw dropped.
"You're kidding." I insisted. There was no way that had to be true. She shook her head.
"Nope. You know how hylians work. When they die with unfinished business, they become a Stalfos. The Hero of Time in this branch of the timeline never had any students to pass his teachings on to. So you're going to learn his techniques." Gilda told me. That left me feeling… a bit concerned. So I was going to learn sword techniques from an undead version of myself… That's going to be something to think over. But if he's a Stalfos, that means it's more like just a husk of his former self. It won't be the Hero of Time. It'll be the Hero's Shade.
Fado interrupted our discussion there. "Ah. Looks like it's time to wrap things up." I stood up as Fado approached.
"Alright. Be ready then. I'll wait for you in Ordona's spring." Gilda told me. I nodded to her as she left. Now I needed to focus on finishing up chores for Fado.
~Gilda's POV~
I stopped outside the Ranch when I spotted Mayor Bo. He stopped me with a quick hello. "Ah, Gilda. I trust you're ready to head out with Link?" I gave him a smile.
"Of course. Just… be warned, okay? I noticed Epona has a little scratch on one of her legs. If Illia notices that, well… I'm a little worried there may be a delay, so you should have the sword ready to give to Link as soon as he finishes helping Fado at the ranch." I warned him. He went wide eyed at that.
"Oh dear… Thank you, Gilda. I'll help Link get that taken care of as soon as I can." He says urgently.
"Great. In the meantime, I'll go wait in Ordona's spring in case Illia does end up trying to steal Epona." I told him.
"Good thinking! I'll handle things here." Bo responded. With a quick nod, I took off for the Spring. Thankfully, the gate wasn't locked when I got to it. Seeing as I had a little time, I waded into Ordona's spring.
"...Hello Ordona. I know I'm not exactly native to this world, but… I'm using what I know to help things along. I want to help Link save the world. So… if at any point I need guidance, do you think you and the other spirits could point the way?" I prayed. I looked up as I heard a divine voice respond.
"We will provide aid where we can, Otherworlder. It will be up to you however to use it as needed. But be warned, the Creature of Desire will attempt to get in your way. You are the only one who can truly defeat it." Ordona spoke. I Quickly understood what she meant.
"I see. And… is there anything that can be done about my curse?" I asked. Ordona's light began to fade from the spring.
"Only by defeating the Creature of Desire can your curse be removed. It is beyond our power." And with that, the Light faded, meaning Ordona had nothing more to say.
"I suppose that's expected then. Thank you for your guidance." I bowed. About then, I heard the stomping of hooves and turned to see Illia enter the spirit spring. I chuckled as she locked the gate behind her. She gasped as she heard me, and turned around to look at me.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Simple. I knew this would happen. I know… a lot of things. Would you care to listen?" I offered a friendly smile. Illia seemed a little bit off put though.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"To give an example, I know Link is the reincarnated Chosen Hero of the Gods. And I know Ganon is coming back." I told her with a dark tone. Illia gasped as I revealed this to her. I felt an aura of curiosity from the spring.
"You mean…" she seemed to be in deep thought.
"That's right. Link and Epona are about to leave on a journey that could very well kill them. But those two are also the most capable of taking it on." I told her. I looked to the side as I heard Link approach the gate. I saw he had the sword he was supposed to deliver. "Ah, Link. You're just in time."
Illia turned to the gate, a conflicted look on her face. "Link, I… is it true? Are you the Chosen Hero?"
"How about you let him in, and we can talk it out?" I suggested. Hesitantly, Illia unlocked the gate. Once Link got inside, Illia moved to see to Epona's injury.
"How much do you know?" Illia asked me.
"To put it bluntly, I've already seen Link kill Ganon." I told her.
"She knows about the other heroes too. I'm probably the first in Hylian history to learn how Ganon was created in the first place." Link added. Illia looked over Epona's leg as she thought over this information.
"So then… Link gets to return safely? Despite everything?" Illia asked. Knowing this was all she cared about in the end, I nodded.
"He does. And I'll make sure of it." I told her. She took a shaky breath.
"Alright. Luckily it looks like it's just a scratch. You three should be ready to go, then."
"There's… One more thing, Illia. I'm sorry to drop this just as it's about to happen, but… King Bulblin is coming. Right here. And when he does, you're going to lose your memory. You'll be fine though, I promise. In fact… Link and I will be proud of you for saving the Zora Prince despite your memory loss." Perfectly timed… Illia and Link didn't have a chance to respond as we heard the thundering hooves of massive boars charging in. The gate was quickly smashed open after that, as King Bulblin and his minions rode in. I braced myself, and Link drew his sword.
"Let's do our best, Gilda! We're not going down without a fight!" He shouted. That… didn't last long though. Illia was shot with an arrow as she tried to run the other way, and Link caught that detail. "Illia!"
I cringed as Link got thwacked on the back of the head with a club, knocking him out. I sighed, watching this. "Well, I guess your ambush wor- GAH!" I was interrupted as the world turned black. However, the spirit spring's water quickly healed me back to full strength. Something I was glad for, as I woke up in the spring water. Link was already up and about, and he bent over me to offer a helping hand in getting me up.
"Come on, Gilda. Let's chase after them!" He shouted. I took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet. I had to sprint to chase after him, since he took off running like a madman across the bridge to Faron. He stopped at the wall of Twilight though.
"Ah shit." I muttered when I saw it.
"Gilda, what the hell is that?!" Link asked in a state of sheer panic.
"I'll explain later, but on a related note have you ever heard of Lycanthropy?" I asked. He didn't get to answer. A black hand suddenly pierced the veil of Twilight and yoinked both Link and I into it. God, this fucker hurt! More than the crushing strength of the hand though, my entire body felt like it was burning, breaking and trying to reshape without melting first. However, then I felt my curse react and the pain started melting into pleasure. Then suddenly, I went flying through the air. The impact with the ground hurt, but after that my mind nearly went numb with pleasure. My entire body felt so tense… it was like every surface of it had become an erogenous zone. Then, the tension released and I came, my scream of pleasure very quickly turning into a kind of odd howl. I collapsed after that, starting to sink back into unconsciousness as my body slowly recovered from a mind shattering orgasm.
