Epilogue
My eyes blinked and adjusted to the bright light surrounding me. I wasn't understanding how I was awake right now. My memories were intact, my body was intact, the physical world around me was intact. My eyes were desperately trying to focus and readjust to see what was before me. Two slim bare feet stood before me.
"Akomin." An elegant woman's voice called to me. I was expecting to be in pain. I expected to feel ill, but I felt fine; I felt normal. I slowly pushed myself up onto my feel and studied my surroundings. There was a large woman who looked familiar but didn't seem recognizable. I squinted my eyes and tried to readjust my vision. The woman was very tall and was dressed in a flowing gown that reminded me of a river flowing down her body. She had familiar golden hair that was tied together and fell down her back. She had a simple tiara that glimmered in the light. She was beautiful, I had never met her before, yet she was so familiar.
"I-I'm sorry, who are you?" I asked politely. She smiled and held out her hand.
"My name is Hylia." She spoke gently. My mouth dropped a bit and tried to gather some words.
"I am so- so sorry my goddess. I promise I-" she held out her hand to hush me.
"No need for the formality, Akomin. You may refer to me as Hylia." She hummed.
"I thought Zelda-" I began, but she laughed a bit as if expecting the question.
"I am still in Zelda's form on the surface, however, my god form has been able to be brought back here, away from the confines of time. I am back to fulfilling the duties I was created for." She admitted. We were in an exquisite hall. Many tables faced a great throne at the head of the hall. It was a room build to host hundreds, but it felt lonely and barren. There were many windows that were pouring deep sunset light into the hall.
"Ok, so where are we?" I asked as I stood up on my own.
"We are in my palace, we are separated from time, it is a place for only gods to dwell. The gods before me used to inhabit it, however, they have moved on, leaving me alone to reside here." She explained to me, however, the more she spoke, the more she confused me.
"So why am I here?" I looked at her blankly hoping for some sort of explanation. And for the first time in my life, someone said something I had been waiting for years to hear.
"I'm going to give you all the answers you crave, Akomin. However, I must give a lot of background context." She took a deep breath and began to guide me to her throne. "The gods created the triforce to be its own being and to represent each of their three virtues. The triforce is capable of knowledge even I do not possess it. When Catto was pregnant, it was in the midst of the hero's journey for the triforce. Your adoptive father, Link, was able to obtain the triforce temporarily by having a pure heart and testing his understanding of wisdom, power, and courage. However, the triforce is nomadic. After Link used the triforce, it would not return to the temple that was designed to house it centuries ago. It latched on to a new location. It was the most worthy location that was available at the time." We approached the throne. She turned to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. I looked down and I was clad in the most elegant armor and it glistened in the light of the hall. "It latched onto the soul of a baby, which was young and growing in a womb."
"I'm sorry, but I don't see how-" I began, but she had no patience for my simple questions and my stupidity. She continued to explain.
"It had to learn how to live in the body of such a small creature. It was never meant to be confined to just a body. It had to adapt to function with a mind and emotions. At times it felt overwhelmed, unstable, confused, and irrational. There was a genetic bond between the wisdom of your mother and the power of your father. Those two, much like the gods before me, clashed without the stability of courage to complete them. Therefore, with the hero able to teach courage, it helped keep the other two docile and complacent. However, a child does not always understand when to demonstrate wisdom overpower. It does not understand when to demonstrate courage over wisdom. It must learn through experience."
"But how did the triforce know, if it was attached to me when I wasn't born, there was no way it could have known I would learn to have the courage that I have today?"
"As I said, I do not understand the knowledge that the triforce possesses. However, I can tell you that courage is very rarely born to a person. Most are born fearful and cowardly. Courage must grow and be taught, otherwise it may never be obtained."
"But my life has only been full of mistakes! I killed people, I hurt people-"
"You aren't able to understand, however, everything about you had been predetermined by prophecy and by the traits that make you."
"So what? I'm some powerful girl that possesses the triforce and I couldn't learn how to use it-"
"You aren't understanding Akomin, you don't possess the triforce… You are the triforce. Everything about you has been due to the existence of it inside of you, and it has been predetermined since the time of the gods." She was getting a bit stern, but she did not grow impatient with my denials. "The books you've read are biased and wrong on why the relationships between demons and humans are forbidden. While the Triforce represents power, wisdom, and courage, there is another triforce that represents all the malice of the world. That triforce remains with Demise. It represents cowardice, submissiveness, and ignorance. Humans are creatures that were born out of the virtues of the triforce. However, demons were born out of the shadows of the dark triforce. Their clashings of existence were never meant to intertwine, yet, as you know better than anyone, a person cannot be defined by who they are born as. While there are many difficulties that can result in the pregnancy of a demon and human offspring, more often than not there will be a case such as your brother's which would lead to a perfect human or demon birth. However, the humans feared the recreation of a being similar to Demise, and the demons feared the prophesized creation of the inevitable akomus who would be in possession of the triforce. It became a mutual taboo that was quickly outlawed by both races."
"When I went back in time, why did Donovan disappear so much faster than I did?" I demanded.
"He was a mere human. After you interfered with your mother and prevented her from leaving her own world, Donovan ceased to exist in that timeline. However, you can't reverse the existence of the triforce. When you went back you merely stoped the birth of your physical form."
"Yes, so why am I still here? The triforce should have just left-"
"Once again, you are not understanding. You are not a being that possessed the triforce as Link did to defeat Demise. Your body became the next house for the triforce to shelter in. Your physical form is gone, so all that is left is your soul which is the triforce. All that you are is the triforce. You have just learned what mortality and the life of existing as a being, and as living that way you have made mistakes... grave mistakes. That is only due to the lack of control or understanding of the form that you possessed. It makes sense that you are still thinking as a being from the physical world would think. I can not guarantee when you will no longer process thought as a person anymore. It is likely that you will eventually separate consciousness with existence, leaving your experiences as a human behind you. I predict that it will be once you determine your decision on where you will go for the next generation."
"But- I'm me, I'm just a kid. I'm not some all-wise, all-powerful, and all-courageous person. I died in another world in the arms of my fourteen-year-old mother."
"Your body died, Akomin. You are more special than you let yourself believe. You cannot return to the physical world without a house for you to hibernate in. Otherwise, your virtues will separate, once your virtues separate, your conscious will likely do so as well. I am not sure what would happen if that does."
"So, I can't ever leave this place?" I began. "Why do I look like how I did before if I'm just a sole completely separate from my body?"
"You find comfort in that form, perhaps it is what you'd like to see and others to see. It may have not been the body you wanted, since it brought a lot of judgment and torment, but you grew to love and respect it over the past year. And yes, for now, you will have to remain away from time until further notice."
"But what-"
"If you would be so honored," she changed the subject. "I would like you to assist me in my duties here."
"Assist you?" Her tone was finally sounding more positive.
"My duties as a goddess created by the gods of old was to watch after the triforce as well as the world that they created. Now, that there is a second timeline to look after, and the triforce is a being I can form a friendship with, I need your help. I could also use a friend to help and protect me. Especially since I have a bow and sheath of arrows that I have yet to learn to use yet." She walked behind her throne and on an alter sat a golden and glowing bow with a rich sheath of arrows. "If you would accept, you would become my personal commander."
"I-I would be honored! Of course-"
"My last commander died while defending and protecting the land that I love. I did what I could to preserve his soul, but I still blame myself for allowing our passions to blind us. I do not expect you to go to those ends-"
"I already went to those lengths to give better lives to the people I love... and people I don't even know. I have no problem doing it again." I blandly stated she seemed to be a bit taken aback by my answer. Her face fell into a relieved grin. "I just don't want anyone else to suffer."
"I knew that sending you to the surface would shape you into an excellent young woman." She grabbed the bow and arrows and handed them to me. "These are the light arrows that I blessed to drive out all evil and to be the strongest of existence. Until I find time to learn to shoot properly, I have no use for them. I believe you will have a better aim."
"I can really use these?" I asked in awe as I took them from her.
"There is no one else I would rather trust with them." She guided me to her throne once again. She raised her hand and some golden droplets fell from the ceiling. They rained heavily and a smaller, but still ornate, throne materialized before us. "This time you won't be leading strangers, you'll be leading yourself, looking out for the people you love, and anyone else you decide to."
I walked over and sat down in the chair, that fits me perfectly. It was roomie and meant for me. It was comfortable. When I sat down I was able to see Faron woods. There was a demon lord who was leading a battle over Lake Floria. He was winning, but the dragon Faron quickly dismissed him and sent her children to kill and drown his army. He retreated alone, went back to his house alone, and began to prepare for his next battle alone.
"I cannot keep continuous watch over your mother, however, from time to time, I can find a way to check in on how she is in her own world. If you are interested…" She offered. I had a stray tear escape my eye and I wiped it away.
"Yeah, I would really enjoy that." I laughed.
She sat next to me in her throne and held out her hand to me. I took it and firmly squeezed it for comfort. I wasn't going to be alone anymore.
THE END
Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is the first book I've completed in a while, I am hoping many of you enjoyed it as much as I have. Please continue to favorite, follow, and review. Always feel free to PM me. I love all you lovelies so much! Stay tuned, I know my posting schedule has gone a little crazy, the semester just started again. BUT STILL! Keep your eyes peeled for The Life To Come which is the book about Ghirahim and Catto's relationship. It is more of a friendship/romcom vibe, but it is still going to be a heavy book similar to this. -Iris
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