Hello! Sorry that last chapter was so short, I tried to make this one longer. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Now, onward!

That night, Malon found it hard to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, her mind simply wouldn't quiet down. She kept thinking about Link and everything he had told her. Through the darkness of her room, she kept seeing his sorrowful eyes and tear-stained face.

She started thinking about the days before his adventure. Back then, he was always smiling as if he had no troubles at all. He laughed easily and spoke honestly about his feelings. But when he returned, he seemed so different. She hadn't noticed those little changes before, but looking back made her realize how different he really was. He still smiled and laughed, but his happiness didn't seem as genuine. He seemed guarded and wary of everything. As a child, she was so glad to have him around that she never noticed how much he had changed. Thinking back on it then made her regretful. If she had been more observant, she would have noticed how much pain he was in. Maybe she could have gotten him to open up sooner.

She shook her head to clear those thoughts away. Dwelling on regrets would only let them consume her. She knew firsthand the damage she could do to her own mind, and she never wanted that to happen again. After her mother passed, she had spent many nights laying in her bed wondering what she could have done to make things different. If she hadn't asked for such expensive presents on her birthday, maybe they could have afforded better medicine when her mother got sick. If she had taken on more work around the ranch, maybe her mother could have rested more. Even as a child, she knew these thoughts were foolish, but she couldn't stop herself.

That pain eventually started leaking into her daily life. She would become distracted and leave her work unfinished. Or she would get easily frustrated and lash out at others for no reason. Her life became so dark that she could no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. She started to believe that there was no light waiting for her at all.

But something changed. It wasn't some grand event, it was one simple thought. I don't want to live this way. That one little sentence was all it took to change the course of her life. She didn't want to let the days pass without truly living them. She didn't want to spend every night crying anymore.

Determination filled her heart to the point of bursting. But even that determination started to crumble under the weight of her sorrow. How could she ever find happiness again? How could she just return her life back to normal? But that line of thinking was exactly the problem. She was trying so hard to live the way she had before, when what she needed to do was find a new way to live. Instead of simply reacting to the pain when it came, she had to constantly battle it. But she never thought of the pain as an enemy, because trying to destroy it was futile. Instead, she embraced the pain and accepted it as a part of her. Eventually, she realized that she wasn't faking her smiles anymore.

Her thoughts returned to Link again. She wondered how many of his smiles had been fake? How many nights did he spend in his room with nothing but pain and memory? Time and trauma had broken his spirit as it had broken hers. She had been able to drag herself out of the storm on her own, but clearly Link could not. He needed someone to guide him, to be his light. Slowly, she felt her thoughts slowing and her body growing heavy. She did not fight sleep when it finally came for her. As she drifted off, she wondered if she really could be Link's guiding light. She hoped that she could.

In the next room, Link was already asleep, but it was not peaceful. He was gripped by a horrible nightmare, it was a memory that often plagued him. It was during his endeavor into the depths of the Shadow Temple. He was several stories underground, and had very little light to see by. Since he could not rely on his sight, every little sound or movement made him jump. He made his way through the hall, creeping slowly and stopping to peer around a corner. He came upon a long straight hallway with only one door on the left wall. Warily, he approached the doorway to investigate.

Suddenly, something scuttled against the stone floor up ahead. The thing was coming towards him faster than he thought possible. In a wild panic, he drew his sword and held it out in front of him. Without even looking, he swung the sword in an attempt to kill whatever was charging him. But the blade sliced through empty air. Confused, he looked down at the floor to find a little rat sniffing around his boots.

Link tried to quell his panic. Every nerve in his body was still on edge and pumped with adrenaline. Calm down, it's just a rat. He told himself. But he couldn't stop his heart from pounding in his chest. I'm losing my damn mind in this place.

The rat started clawing at one of his boots, so he kicked at it to shoo it away. The little creature hissed in annoyance as it scampered off into the open doorway. Curious about where it was going, Link approached the doorway and peered into the room. He had to squint to see through the darkness. His eyes were able to make out two things distinctly: the red of dried blood on the floor and the shapes of chains hanging from the ceiling.

I wonder how many people have died down here? He didn't want to think about the horrors that took place here long ago. The very thought of it made him shudder violently. Suddenly not wanting to spend another moment in this dark place, he backed out of the doorway. But before he turned away, something caught his attention. Something was moving inside the room and it was much bigger than a rat. He moved back into the doorway to try and get a better look at whatever it was. When he was able to make it out better, he realized that it's shape was not like a monster, but it was oddly humanoid. It opened its mouth, and a raspy human groan escaped it's throat.

Link couldn't believe it, someone was alive down here! Somehow, someone had survived all this time. His heart soared with relief. Not bothering to be careful anymore, he moved towards the person.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The person's head jerked up to look at the boy who had spoken to them. Their eyes stared blankly into his for a long moment. Then, they let out an ear splitting screech and charged. Link's only reaction was to scream in horror as he was grabbed and flung backwards into the hall. With his attacker still clinging to him, his back slammed into the wall behind him. The force of the collision made his body go limp for a moment, and his sword skittered across the floor.

Now he could see his attacker in the light. The creature was more skeleton than flesh, with hollow eye sockets and cracked teeth. It had terrifying claws as long and sharp as daggers. Despite its lack of flesh, it was incredibly strong and fast. Link knew the name of this disgusting creature all too well. It's a ReDead!

The ReDead wasted no time and closed one powerful hand around the boy's neck. It raised him off the floor and was crushing his throat. Fighting for air, Link tried to pry the zombie's hand away, but it's one arm was stronger than both of his. With it's free hand, it ripped it's blade-like claws across Link's stomach. The boy's wail of agony echoed through the empty stone hall.

He used his left hand to hold back the ruthless claws. Frantically, he kicked at the zombie's gut with both of his legs. But the creature was not fazed and did not let go. Link was all alone and he was powerless. He felt the sting of tears coming to the surface. The lack of air was starting to make his head feel fuzzy. He felt his heartbeat start to slow and his body was becoming harder to move. Darkness started to creep into the sides of his vision. Was he really going to die in this place?

No, I refuse to die here! With nothing but his sheer will to live, he survived. He released the ReDead's arms and didn't stop it when it dug its claws into his side. Pain flooded through his nerves like a tidal wave, but he bit his lip and ignored it. He pulled a dagger from his belt and stabbed it into the zombie's skull. The creature reared its head back and howled in pain. It finally released its mighty grip, and Link collapsed to the floor.

Wasting no time, he crawled towards the Master Sword. By the time he held the sword in his hand, the ReDead had recovered. Faster than a bolt of lightning, it lept towards the boy with all ten claws outstretched. Just as the monster lunged forwards, Link ducked down under it. Then, thrusted the holy sword upwards into the zombie's heart. The zombie sputtered and writhed before collapsing onto its side. It was finally dead for good.

Exhausted, Link flopped onto the cold floor, panting heavily. Although he had defeated the enemy, he felt no sense of triumph. ReDeads aren't like other monsters. They were people once. He looked over at the mangled corpse. That thing had once been a living person with a soul. Was he a good person? Did he have a family? He would never know the answers to those questions. But there was one question that would always remain.

Does this make me a murderer?

Even now, as he slept safely in his bed at Lon Lon Ranch, he still wondered. As he tossed and turned, the memory suffocated him. As tears and sweat gathered on his skin, he whispered in his sleep.

"I'm...a murderer."