Chapter -20-
"The Old Realm"

Jasen 26, 2050

Nohansen smiled inwardly. "Just as I thought. The fools are mobilizing to rescue Queen Tetra. Now that my young niece, in all her youthful inexperience, decided to cut Hyrulean nobles of their titles, they will surely be thrilled for Queen Tetra's return. Zelda is nothing if not consistent between her teen years and now."

He stood alone in his bunker. The plain, drab walls were nondescript in every sense of the word … dull and forgettable, there were no discernible markings on any wall.

"It's just as Zelda told the media when she was a very young girl – she had talked about making such changes for many years, and wished to follow through. The only thing she didn't know is that I actually counted on it. These nobles will not support her reign with the return of Tetra. Something else I've planned on well in advance."

Nohansen ran his thumb over the side of the small voice recorder in his hands. He relaxed his posture and paced his makeshift bedroom.

He continued his monologue. "Only the Sheikah would dare follow Princess Zelda because they believe she is the reincarnation of the goddess. But the rest of the kingdom will follow Tetra – most importantly those who help with funding the kingdom. And, with the people split on who to follow, there will be no clear leadership," he continued.

He paced back the other direction. "It seems to me that if either one demands to rule, it would surely lead to a civil war. And even if they do manage to work out their differences, I will already have left the realm, which leaves me free to tap into the ancient power of Demise. If it's true … if my memories are correct, that is the source of the power behind Ganon – the man whose reincarnated soul I apparently possess. I recall that many of my … past … iterations, if you will, have tried to tap into the interminable malice of Demise, the demon … or spirit … whose power is attached to my soul. My past iterations of Ganon have sought the fully unlocked power of the malice of Demise. They sought to merge his demonic spirit with their … with our … with this human soul…"

Nohansen glanced behind himself, looking to see if any of the moblins were listening. He looked back down at the recorder in his hand, then back to his bunker window, peering out at the drab grey landscape of rocks and lifeless hills.

"It is believed that Moblins, Bokoblins, Stalfos, and other such creatures are born as physical manifestations of malice, which, I dare admit, is actually far more comforting than the idea that these creatures are fabricated from sexual procreation. The downside is that the Royal Family used music to activate their oldest technologies, because the Malice of Demise despises music, and, due to his hatred of it, cannot hold a tune. I was trained in basic music theory, but have never cared much for music, either. I can play basic notes on a piano from sheet music, but am one of only a small percentage of people that are fully tone-deaf."

He switched his recorder to his other hand with a soft sigh. "None of my past iterations have succeeded in fully merging with the tangible malice of Demise. I will be the first to accomplish this. I will be the first to achieve his full power potential. The power of a demi-god. Not because I covet Zelda like Mandrag. Not because I want power or prestige for the Gerudo like Ganondorf. Not even because I want respect from my dead brother. Simply put, I wish to do this because I want to achieve that which my predecessors could not in the five thousand years since this cycle began…"

The room was silent when he drew quiet.

Nohansen sighed softly, then he continued. "Ganondorf came the closest when he achieved the form of the Dark Beast, but the so-called Divine Beast struck him down … a wolf aided by arrows of light. Hmm. It is time for me to return to the land of my heritage, my ancestral home, and amass my power."

He turned to a cot in the corner, reached for a pack with shoulder straps, and sighed softly. He pulled the backpack onto his shoulders and continued speaking into the small recorder while headed for the door. "I've made up my mind. I am headed to the Old Realm to seek the portal that will take me to Demise, so that I can meet him in person. You see, that is where my predecessors failed to truly understand this situation … Demise is not in HELL, he is not demonic in the way people think of angels and demons … he is a conscious energy stored within a realm different than ours. I will go there in my physical form, allow him to merge with my body, so that his spirit and my soul become one, and then I will conquer all that I wish. I will possess the powers of his malice-made-physical."

Silence.

Nohansen looked around his bunker office, switched the device to his other hand, then he continued speaking into it once more. "I've procured transportation back to the Old Realm, thought to have been flooded for centuries. My brother once mentioned that he had knowledge of a mountain range in the middle of nowhere, where some Hylians survived with a handful of Sheikah, as well as the Rito, a clan of Zora, a group of Gerudo, and, of course, a group of Great Fairies with their lesser cousins. Elemental dragons are also rumored to exist there. I suppose it all remains to be seen. There were ruins dotting the landscape in the images I have seen. Over the years, this land has become larger and larger as the ocean waters have receded. All of our mountain ranges, deserts, and much more have been named for landmarks of similar design in the old realm. And they are all accessible again after a recent quake. Roughly a quarter century later."

Nohansen resumed pacing.

"But the most important part is that there is another entrance to the Sacred Realm there. I must go there. As I understand it, the New Realm was modeled after many important landmarks from the old realm, but now that I am headed there, I must establish myself as the prevalent power base of the land upon my arrival."

"I feel the winds of change, like a shift in the tide. I wanted to stay here, I wanted to level the kingdom, but … I supposed I've had a change of heart. Perhaps it's the calling of Demise that lures me back to the Old Country. My forces will join me in leaving New Hyrule. We have seized a ship large enough to take us across the Great Sea. A convoy of small ships will take my forces. We will split up and take different ways to the Old Country, so that any satellite trying to watch us will be unable to determine which ship I use for travel. Also, our ships will be disguised as merchant ships. The journey will take a week. Perhaps New Hyrule will let down its guard during this time. With what nuclear material is still active, I will be a god in that ancient backwater landmass. Little does anyone know that true power lies under its surface."

Nohansen shifted the recorder back to his other hand once more, and said, "For now, I will be headed to the shipyard to be among the first to leave New Hyrule. I must heed the call to travel the winds of change. May the fates favor my return to power as it has on occasions in the past." He thumbed the 'stop' button, pocketed the recorder, and left the room.

X

X

Jasen 26, 2050
3pm, Old Realm
Old Lanayru Desert…

Zelda and Link Josiah stepped through the Gate of Time and arrived in an ancient courtyard. They were immediately greeted with waist-high dirt.

LJ put his foot onto what appeared to be a half-buried canister. He climbed up onto the surface, turned, and pulled Zelda up from the portal, onto the surface level.

The portal faded from the Gate.

Dirt and rubble shifted back into place, burying the lower half of the circular gateway.

"Well," he said with a frown, "We're not going back home that way. Unless we happen to be standing here when someone activates it from the other end, to send some of this dirt through. Or maybe if we got our hands on a backhoe."

Zelda frowned. "I did not expect it to be partially submerged. I was under the impression that this gate was hidden inside a large room with a ceiling, and that is why I had you help me with pushing those canisters through first."

LJ smirked. "Yeah, it's a good thing we did, because that's what I stepped on to pull myself up onto the surface ground. What was in those anyhow?"

"I sent them into the past one week earlier, just minutes before we left. They're designed to flood the room with a high concentration of UV light. They also inundate the room with anti-bacterial spray, followed by oxygen purifiers that stir stale air with fresh oxygen in compressed tanks built into the bottom of the…"

LJ tilted his head.

"Sorry," she said. "As my father used to tell me, I must learn to work on my 'elevator speech.' Fit in everything relevant under the duration of time it would take to ride with someone on an elevator. In other words, it is a synopsis."

"I pitched my novel to literary agents in person. Trust me, I know what an elevator speech is … and I am terrible at them, heh."

"Why must it be so difficult not to ramble when there is so much to talk about? But yes, I must learn to speak only of the important parts because the rest of the world has a short attention span."

LJ chuckled. "All right, so … be concise … or don't. Practice on me if you want."

Zelda grinned at him. "I love that you accept me just as I am. Very well, I will. Ahem: the canisters were designed to purify the air because an ancient, sealed room would have unbreathable air, especially after so many thousands of years."

"Really?"

"Yes. Imagine several millennia of humidity. Just think of all the bacteria, mold, and mildew. It would be dangerous to breathe such ancient air … even for a few seconds. But … the goddess at the end of time knew these canisters would be buried in rubble from ages of tectonic activity. It's now obvious to me that she decided it wise to bring down the ceiling and support pillars, likely so we would have these canisters for use later in our journey. Judging by the appearance of the rubble, it seems the room collapsed centuries ago."

LJ said nothing. He tilted his head.

Zelda lowered her eyes. "Or … perhaps I am looking too deeply into this, and the temple simply collapsed, and 'fate' is merely 'luck.' I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if my new-found faith is misplaced. The old me was very analytical; I only recently started to ponder if I should put more faith in Hylia." Zelda ran her fingers back through her lengthy blonde hair with a sigh of frustration. "On the other hand, how can I be a reincarnation of her if she's still alive, sitting at the end of time?"

"Because she will eventually die," said LJ. "Either to Demise or from old age, because she traded her power for mortality, per the ancient texts. Right?"

"Yes, you're quite right. I'm not thinking, erm, fourth dimensionally, I suppose. She will eventually die, and her soul becomes reincarnated. So, my wise hero, what do you think was the cause of this collapse of the Temple of Time?"

"I'm thinking it's probably from the receding waters of the Great Ocean. We're lucky this place was built so well; else this would have been washed away when the Great Ocean flooded Old Hyrule."

Zelda listened intently to his explanation.

"Anyhow, enough of the Gate was accessible for us to climb out, and that's … too fortuitous to attribute to naïve 'dumb luck.' This feels more like … providence rather than serendipity. You know?"

Zelda's facial expression broadened into a genuine smile. "I love that you're a writer. You should use your vocabulary more often."

"I'll try. I, uh, don't usually use it in conversation, heh. Anyway, the fact those canister things didn't activate … that could be a gift from the goddess."

She grinned because she already made that connection a moment prior, but she decided to let LJ come to the same conclusion since he apparently missed where she rambled her way through the same assumption. "How so?"

LJ held his hands outward and said, "Because we can still use them. Like, I mean, we should dig those things out and come back with a horse, then use them in any dungeons we find, heh."

"Yes, that would be sensible. Perhaps you are right – we would not have had the option to utilize them if they performed their job when first I sent them through. Becoming lodged into the rubble en lieu of performing their designed feature is proof, at least to me, that the Goddess Hylia picked up the slack where I lacked the foresight to plan ahead."

"Hey, now. Don't be hard on yourself."

"I have been struggling with nearly two weeks of blaming myself…"

LJ tilted his head a little.

"…Blaming myself for what happened to my parents, and for my hero dying – yes, you. Ten days thinking you'd died, and I was beside myself, LJ."

"But why? None of it was your fault."

"I blamed myself because I didn't take an active role in fighting Uncle Nohansen. The other day, I promised Hylia if she brought back everything I lost, within reason, that I would take a far more active role in fighting and in serving her. And then…? Suddenly, both you and my mother are returned to me. What does that tell you?"

LJ reached back and rubbed the nape of his neck. "It sounds like she's holding up her end of the bargain."

"Yes, quite. It was childish of me to doubt her … to doubt a part of myself."

"Maybe giving things back to you is some sort of reward for finding your faith. The old scriptures state that Hylia favors those who believe in her without fail; without, y'know, whining and pouting, even when things don't go their way."

Zelda laughed. "That's … certainly one way to paraphrase the ancient texts."

"I might not have lived a pious life when it comes to the goddess … any of the goddesses, really, but that line, the one about how she favors those who believe in her plan … that is what got me through when my parents died. I was just old enough to take legal custody of my sister; I filed for it right away so that we wouldn't be separated. I told myself I had to do it without allowing myself to be 'overcome by frustration' or however the original text is worded. I focused more on the meaning than the exact wording."

"You did right by your sister. Good man. But … the ancient texts really helped center you?"

"I mean, hey, if the wording is good enough for the audience for whom it was written … you, then it's definitely good enough for me."

"You think that the ancient texts were written for … me?"

"I'm a writer. I understand how a writer gets from point A to point Z. I also understand how a writer targets their audience."

"But you write nonfiction, LJ."

"I wrote fanfics, and I took a creative writing class in college."

"Very well, then how does a writer hook a reader?"

"Oh? You want, like, an example?"

"An example other than Hylia's scripture. I want an example for the average reader."

LJ opened his arms and said, "Sure! A first person piece grabs those who read to be in the shoes of the character. Third person prose is…"

"Those are not examples. How about this … how might, say, a sex scene be written to hook both men and women, Mr. Writer?"

LJ paused, briefly. He reached back and rubbed at the name of his neck."

"Do go on…"

LJ laughed to deflect the awkward topic. "Okay, well, sex scenes certainly can grab both guys and girls; so you write the first two pages only focusing on emotions and romance, which draws in the women readers, then two more pages would depict the scene with phrasings that guys like, which focus more on physical aspects of the scene, and then you've hooked your readers. But if you stick to one or the other, you can focus on one type of reader-base. If you know your work does well with one type of viewer, you can focus on them … write what they wanna see, you know? Okay, look, a sex scene is not a great example, but my point still stands … the writer has to get inside the reader's head so I can understand the prose better. And I'm telling you right now … Hylia wrote all of her best advice to herself. Her future iterations. You."

"Mm, perhaps you're right, LJ. Maybe it was written for each Zelda throughout the ages. Some of my ancestors were a bit young, and, sometimes, teenaged girls get frustrated quite easily. Sometimes we rise to the occasion. Other times we become entrenched in our own drama, a product of teenaged hormones, a sense of entitlement, and a list of other factors and stressors. The last to bear the name Zelda once spoke of being mired in her own emotions, unable to get out of her own way until she was waist-deep into her twenties. But she could not figure out how to overcome until she was in her thirties. Poor thing."

"Did she ever have a family?"

"I should hope so, heh. She was my great-grandmother, and she passed the day after she got to hold me at my baptism ceremony. Perhaps that line, of which you are so fond, was added to the ancient texts to remind each iteration of princesses, each charged with the power to seal away the darkness, that they are not to lose hope in the face of extreme adversity and frustration."

"Well, so far so good. Demise wants to wipe out humanity, but our species is still alive and kicking. I guess Hylia's advice to herself has worked thusfar."

"I can only hope that a future iteration of me isn't some … bratty teenaged girl who stomps, pouts, and splashes her fists in the prayer fountains when she doesn't get her prayers immediately answered."

"Even if you are, I'll stick by you. I don't know what to say to you to fix it, but I'll be there."

Zelda offered him a gentle smile. "You won't even have to say anything, LJ. Just knowing you are there will be enough to know you care."

"You won't resent me for not saying anything? I don't think I could be a mute forever; I'd eventually want to open up to you."

Zelda laughed. She stood up, dusted herself off, and nudged one of the half-buried canisters with her foot. She turned back to him and said, "If I am reborn a spoiled brat, and if I resent you for not sharing your thoughts, just … do something small … an act that shows you care for me. You're both selfless and courageous; it will come easy for you. I'll see the sign, and I'll pull my metaphorical head from my figurative ass."

"And what a wonderful and shapely one it is, too. Wait, can I say that about a queen?"

"Hopefully … anytime, now, I will once again be just a Princess. But my 'wonderful and shapely' ass appreciates your consideration and admiration."

"Damn, why is it so hot to hear the monarch curse like a sexy stevedore?"

"Indeed! Even though it makes me sound impetuous and immature. Now, let's find these arrows so we can get back and strike down that … dickhead."

LJ laughed. "I love when you show me your brash side."

Zelda laughed again. "Are you … flirting with my brashness?"

LJ looked around furtively. He turned back to her, met her gaze, and said, "Yes. Yes, I am. Because we're alone, and you can be as 'impetuous' and 'immature' as you like."

A smirk spread across her unpainted pink lips. She leaned in a little closer and spoke a single word in dulcet tones. "Fuck."

This time, LJ laughed. "Oh, youuu."

She feigned a preen by posing for him. "Oh, me. All right, enough playful posturing. Back to a professional standard."

"Back on mission," he replied with a firm nod. "Now to find a horse."

"Or fashion a makeshift cart."

"Or both. Let's go have a look at the surrounding area and see what we're dealing with."

"Take point, lead stallion."

"On my six, princess."

Zelda grinned with a soft chuckle. "Oh, so now who's brash? Not to mention dashing. Brash and dashing."

"No, no, we just established that you're the brash one."

"No, you." Zelda crossed her arms over her chest with a playful expression that was supposed to look ornery, but it was obvious that she was being silly.

"No … you." LJ grinned and gestured for her to follow him.

"Wow, you totally 'got me' with that last reply, LJ. You bested me in a battle of wits. No doubt about it."

"Heh. That's literally impossible. You were the wittiest person in all of Hyrule, and that had a pretty big population. Now that we're in the Old Realm, you're basically the wittiest person to step foot on this soil since the goddess was a girl and dirt was new."

Zelda laughed and pointed forward. "C'mon, you."

The two made their way through the ancient remains of the original Temple of Time.

LJ paused to look at artwork depicted on a wireframe stave lying on the floor. "Wait, are those music notes?"

Zelda beamed. "You never cease to impress me…"

"That's because I like to set a low bar, that way I exceed expectation every time."

"Heh. Funny. Anyhow, yes, those are music notes. From this direction, they are the notes to the Song of Time: A, D … F, A, D … F, A, C, B, G, F, G, A, D, C, E, D. I believe that's a Dorian mode."

"That's a type of scale, huh?"

Zelda smiled. "You know music theory?"

"Surprise! So, uh, music is really important to the Royal Family, huh?"

"It was really important to Hylia. She used music to 'one-up' Demise."

"Oh, using gamer terms. Now I'm the one who is impressed."

Zelda scoffed, but the sound ended on a soft laugh. "Yes, well…" She cleared her throat and said, "You've heard my lullaby, remember? But if you play the song in reverse … imagine if the sheet music was hanging up, and you were on the other side, reading it backwards…"

"Okay, go on."

"Well, the song would be the Goddess' Song; one simply needs to change the accentuations and the inflection of the playing."

"Holy crap, really?"

"Surprise," she said with a wry grin, repeating what he'd said to her a moment ago. "Normally, a lullaby is played to put someone to sleep, but when played backwards, the Ballad of the Goddess woke Zelda up, rousing the goddess, Hylia, within her."

"Holy shit, I had no idea."

Zelda feigned a wry grin. "You knew, didn't you? You're pretending to be surprised."

"Okay, okay, I've heard rumors about it. I just didn't have confirmation until now."

"Mm, well … the notes of all the Royal Family's sacred songs have esoteric power, especially when played on specific instruments, like the Ocarina of Time, which was fashioned from a block of Timeshift Stone and painted blue so it seemed like a simple but decorative instrument to the untrained eye."

"Okay, why? What's the deal with the music and the instruments?"

"Well, it's because the music notes activate an ancient technology designed to work with ancient Sheikah-made tech, including, but certainly not limited to, a weather satellite that can create storms, as well as the Gate of Time, and … you know, I really feel as though I'm starting to ramble again."

"No worries, I followed what you're saying. That's really wild."

"I am quite delighted that you find it fascinating."

"Are you kidding, Zel? Seriously, a satellite that causes storms…? So, that would mean there's a Song of Storms to activate it?"

"Yes, there is. When Hyrule was flooded, creating the Great Ocean, it is written in the Royal Family's personal journals, that the King begged the goddess to flood Hyrule to keep Ganon from obtaining the TriForce and the Hylia-made Master Sword, due to not having a hero to wield them at the time."

"Wait … why are you emphasizing 'Hylia-made Master Sword,' are you suggesting something?"

Zelda nodded. "I have a theory that there's a second Master Sword. One made by Hylia and another one, which was wielded by the Waker of Winds. I theorize that sword was made by a Sheikah genius, because Hylia's blade was lost at the time. Hidden. But more on that another time…" She cleared her throat and continued. "Back on topic, the King asked for Hyrule to be flooded and the goddess responded by playing the Song of Storms for hours, which, on our end, lasted for weeks. When she finished playing the song from her perch at the end of time, Hyrule was beneath the waves."

"According to Link of Calatia, Ganon caused it."

"Mm, yes, Mandrag Ganon made the claim just before Sir Link was placed into suspended animation. Modern scientists suggest the Great Ocean was actually caused by a glacier breaking into the ocean, floating toward the equator, and rapidly melting over the course of just a few days due to warm waters caused by an unusually hot series of summers."

"They think the Great Ocean was due to … climate change?"

Zelda nodded. "The thing is … it all happened so quickly. It happened right when the King and Mandrag Ganon wished for it."

"So, was it really caused by a weather satellite?"

"Well, LJ, the music and its power were heavily documented, studied, and I can make it rain by playing my harp or the Ocarina of Time. Yes, it's real. Yes, it works. It's scary to have that much power."

"Why did Hylia use music instead of, I dunno, magic words or whatever?"

"The original Zelda, the Skyloft Zelda, as the first reincarnation of Hylia … she loved music. And, like Hylia, she was a musician. Demise hated music. All his known iterations were said to have loathed music, which I suppose is easy to do when you are filled with malice. Music was picked to be the safeguard for the Royal Family's secrets because Demise suffered from amusia."

"Okay, that's a new term to me…"

"Demise was tone-deaf, which only affects less than two percent of Hylians, and a little more than five percent of the overall human population. Because of this, most Zeldas were trained musically."

"Oh. Wild. Is Nohansen tone-deaf?"

"I can attest that he cannot sing, but whether or not he cannot differentiate pitch or follow even simple tunes … I cannot attest to that. Although, it is possible, as I have never heard him play music unless he was following notes and playing patterns. But we were never close enough for me to know for sure."

LJ ran his fingers over the notes on the wooden stave, then he looked back at Zelda and said, "I, uh … played a little guitar years ago. Still dabble. Was gonna be the lead singer of my band and play the solo licks and dual guitar harmony parts, but … well, you know how high school kids are. We think we're amazing, but wind up doing nothing with it. Heh."

"You sing and play guitar?"

"I mean, yeah. I used to. I still pick it up sometimes."

"You knew what a Dorian Mode is, LJ. You played enough to know more than a pentatonic scale."

"Heh. Guilty as charged."

"You'd better play something for me one day soon."

LJ smiled at her request. "I'd … uh, actually yeah," he said with a broadening smile. "I'd like to perform for you."

"So would I, that's why I asked you to do it." She returned the grin at him. "I like that you're eager, though. I do so look forward to it."

"I wonder if I can find my old bandmates on social media. We could play for ya if I remember how our old songs go, heh." LJ continued across the empty rubble-filled room to an ancient door frame, filled in with bits of broken stone pieces. He clapped his hands firmly and rubbed his palms together. "Okay. Let's figure out how to get out of this."

"You can still play for me, privately. Scantily clad." She grinned then, before he could reply, she cleared her throat firmly and announced, "Back on topic … it looks like it's interlaced with ferrous metal. Let me try something new."

LJ tilted his head. "New…?"

"Mm-hmm." Zelda withdrew a shiny new model of Sheikah Slate with a clear-coat case over the unit. She turned it sideways and used her thumbs to manipulate the interface. "I was looking forward to surprising you, and now is the time. Check this out…"

The chunks of debris lifted into the air with a faint reddish aura. Zelda made it all look effortless. She turned about, one hundred eighty degrees, and deposited the chunks of metal and stone in the middle of the room, away from the doorframe. A wry grin tugged at the corners of her lips. "How do you like that?"

LJ's eyes glistened with delight. "That is …effing… awesome."

"No one's around, go for the gold."

LJ kept his gaze on the debris. "I want to be … a better person. For you. For us. Overall. I, uh, wanna live up to being a 'hero.' It starts with mindset, right?"

Zelda's smile brightened. "I … wasn't expecting that."

"That's cool, right? I mean, if you like the nerdy wanna-be, uh, bad-boy type, that's cool, but…"

"No. No, I like you. You. Your past, your present, and your evolution as a man. There's a chemistry I can't put my finger on, but … if you evolve your mindset, you're still you, and I like that you want to take an active role in emotional growth. Manhood looks good on you, LJ Kasuto."

LJ reached a hand back and rubbed at the nape of his neck. "Heh." His knuckles brushed against the hilt of the Master Sword he wore on his back.

"Speaking of things that look good on you, how do you like the Sheikah-made replica of the Master Sword? It's just like the real thing, hm?"

"I can't tell the difference, but Link worries it might break the way the Sheikah version of the Hylian Shield broke during a training fight. Guess there's only one way to find out, let's just hope it doesn't happen to us in battle, heh."

"Oh dear." Zelda frowned. She took his hand from the backside of his neck, ran her thumb over his knuckles, then she gave a tug on his hand. "Take point, my hero." She looked down at the Sheikah Slate in her other hand and slid it into a pouch on her hip. "You should probably know that there's another one of these … it was made specifically for you. My best Sheikah inventor seems to believe they figured out how to make a piece of technology tell the difference between you, me, and the rest of the population. Like, any incarnation of you … any incarnation of me … and the rest of humanity. Yours is designed to work for either of us, but it will authenticate specific pieces of technology that are designed for you. At least in theory."

"Wait, really?"

"Yes. So, you know how the Sheikah Tribe is creating training shrines for you around Hyrule? Let's say they keep going and make more shrines, here in the Old Realm, and they just … keep making them…"

"Yeah?"

"With your Sheikah Slate … in your hands … it will authenticate your identity and allow access for you. Not me. Only you. But, according to the designer of these two slates … and in theory only … it will work for future iterations of you. They have been studying Sir Link, Linkle, Ravio, and they have been studying you. Discretely. I didn't want to, uh, freak you out. But they have been completely un-invasive about it. Anyhow, the theory they presented to me is … a future reincarnation of you will be able to pick up the Sheikah Slate and use it to authenticate his identity. He'll be able to use it to gain access to specific areas that will prepare him for his future trials and tribulations in his war against Demise. So, if my future-self picks up his Sheikah Slate, she'll be able to use it to take pictures, check the map, throw a bomb, or use magnesis, but she won't be able to use it to enter one of those shrines … just as an example."

"Did they test it with Link of Calatia?"

"Yes, Sir Link helped to test it. It was a brief test, but it worked as designed. And your sister was able to operate it. And Ravio. And Linkle."

"That's … actually really wild. And you couldn't use the one made for me?"

"Correct."

"Wow. That's wild."

"It is, yes." Zelda trailed off and held a hand for LJ to be quiet. She tilted her head, pointing one of her ears toward the doorway that led out of the temple. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear … what?"

Zelda held her breath for a moment and listened. She smiled. "That bird call. It's beautiful. It sounds so unique."

"I hear it. Weh-er-wihl."

Zelda nodded firmly. "There are ancient texts from the Old Realm that catalogue everything from ornithology to weather patterns and geology … and everything in between."

"Uh, okay?"

"My point is, I remember my childhood studies. That bird call is from a bird native only to the Old Realm."

"What's it called?"

Zelda thought for a moment, listened to the sound of the bird in the distance, once more, then announced, "It's a Whippoorwill."

"That's … so the bird says its name, huh?"

Zelda chuckled. "I'm sure it was named for the sound it makes." She continued through the doorway into a hallway that led to the outside.

They emerged from the stonework, facing a vast and untamed wild world of peaks, valleys, and untouched splendor.

Zelda turned and looked back at the overgrowth on the walls of the Temple of Time. She turned the other direction and faced the ruins of the original Hyrule Castle. She brought her hands to her mouth, speechless.

LJ put an arm around her and pulled her close. "I bet we're the first people to lay eyes on these buildings in ages. At the bottom of an ocean for ages … but look at them. They stood the test of time and the test of waves. That's impressive."

Zelda's eyes glistened with complex emotions. She took a moment to get control of her breathing. Her free hand went to her chest; she could feel her heart pounding wildly beneath her ribcage. She still couldn't manage words. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Aww, got a case of the feels, huh? I think I read that a series of sunspots and a climatic shift in the past few years caused a series of really cold winters. Cold enough to cause the reforming of several polar ice caps around the globe. The oceans have lowered by an average of two inches since we were born … or something like that. You think it had something to do with all this suddenly resurfacing?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes. My parents never told me, but when I became queen, I had access to global satellite imagery, and I learned that the Old Realm was no longer beneath the ocean waves. My first instinct was to tell Hylians we could consider returning home, but I learned that my parents had drafted legislature to keep this all a secret … at least for a bit longer. At least until they could determine the best way to breech the subject with the population. They also wanted to have the area surveyed for safety-sake, first, before people started coming over here to 'explore.' Furthermore, there are secrets and tech belonging to the Royal Family that we felt the need to secure, first. My uncle … was not in the 'know.' Neither was I. At least not until I became queen. It's the only reason I knew we could come here."

"Do you really think the original … the real … Master Sword is here?"

"Yes, and imagine if we had two Master Swords."

"We would stomp Nohansen into the dirt and he would stay there for the next ten thousand years. If your gut is right, and Hylia would know, after all, then we need to find that sword."

"Indeed, we must. And the Silver Arrows of Light. The texts speak of them being hidden here by Sheikah Tribesmen before they traversed the Great Ocean to the New Realm. And we're going to find them. Together." She pointed to what looked like giant stone columns to the west. "That looks like it was once an island and the mountain upon which it was once perched eroded on the sides." Then she turned to the southeast and pointed to a distant mountain with a flat top. "There are several in the area, all of which likely once had towns and information when this area was flooded."

"We are really going to do this together, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, LJ."

LJ beamed. "Then let's do this."

"Lead the way."

"Castle first. You ready?"

"I am, yes." Zelda gave his hand a squeeze.

LJ returned the gesture by giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's not far. Let's get moving." He started walking toward the castle, hand-in-hand with Zelda at his side.