Link was spacing out as they walked the last leg of their journey. Lanayru was a beautiful region, and normally he'd be sightseeing, but his mind was distracted. Zelda, for her part, however, seemed to put the morning's conversation behind her, as she had resumed her obsessive tinkering with the Sheikah Slate.
Link was particularly distracted when he noticed Zelda had stopped in her tracks. Looking over at her, he saw her eyes transfixed on something to their east. Stopping, he watched her as she slowly walked towards a rock formation. "What is it?" he called.
"That rock over there. There is something on it…" she trailed off. "Could it be?"
Her eyes widened with excitement, and she took off, sprinting towards the rock with reckless abandon. Link, surprised by Zelda's sudden energy, took off after her, barely keeping up even with the effects of the Hasty food he ate the previous night. She stopped at the rocks a few seconds before he arrived, standing in awe.
"I can't believe it. It has an ancient symbol of the Royal Family on it." With a furious flurry of tapping, Zelda used the Sheikah Slate. "There's nothing on here about this rock," she said, "Perhaps this place predates the Ancient Sheikah culture that created the slates."
Link noticed the area looked like it had been recently disturbed by a rockslide. Ignoring the fresh terrain, Zelda walked closer to the rock, Link just behind her. Zelda reached out and touched the symbol, and the symbol began to glow. A shining message appeared below the crest. "The Hand of the Hero will forge the path forward," Zelda read, looking over to Link. "I think it means you."
Link looked down at his hands. Suddenly, a glow came from the back of his right hand, and a surge of energy swelled within Link. Touching the wall, a blinding blue light shined upwards, and the rock in front of him dissipated.
Link looked at Zelda, her eyes wide with excitement. Taking a step in, she looked back at Link, saying, "Come on, let's see what is in here."
"What about Vah Ruta?"
"Oh, we'll get to it after we see what's in here. If there's too much to look at in there today, we'll come back after Vah Ruta."
Link looked quizzically at Zelda. She never put off working on a piece of Sheikah technology, especially a Divine Beast. Looking forward into the cave, he realized there was something very important about it for her to have changed her focus so completely.
Leading onward, Zelda followed behind as they descended further into the cave. A light around a corner flickered ahead of them. Coming around the bend, they came into a large room with magically sustained torches lighting the room with a flickering brilliance.
In the center of the room laid a large stone tomb. Zelda walked up. "It's written in an ancient dialect, far predating the ancient Sheikah who developed this great technology," she stated, reading the archaic glyphs intensely, "I… can't make it out entirely, but, based on what I can read, this is the official cenotaph of the Hero of Time!"
The sword on Link's back seemed to shift in response to Zelda's exclamation, as though it remembered Link's predecessor. Link stared at the tomb, only stirring when Zelda exclaimed "Oh my, these are such detailed notes!"
Link looked around the room, noticing a smooth shield with an odd face, a gilded sword, and some old, rusted, and decayed equipment.
Zelda, for her part, was absolutely gushing over the discovery, the camera function on the Sheikah Slate clicking at a fevered rate. She exclaimed every time she came upon something new. "The Hero of Time was said to be but a young boy, only 10 years old, when he became the Sword's Chosen! He saved Hyrule from Ganon, before he became a monstrosity, when he was a person by the name of Ganondorf.
After replacing the Sword, returning to his original time, he found a land known as Termina, which he saved from an ancient evil. He passed away as a knight of Hyrule, and is said to have returned in spirit to teach the Hero of Twilight."
Link grabbed the sword he had spotted, weighing it in his hands. The weapon sported an extremely well balanced, xiphos-styled blade with an unusual pattern of gold alloyed to the sword's titanium, creating an exceptionally hard blade. He also grabbed the shield, a medium sized shield with an unusually shiny boss that had a face imprinted upon it.
Looking up at the wall next to him, he noticed an engraving of an owl over the Triforce. Reaching out and touching it, he recoiled from a sudden glow of white light that came from the symbol.
A rumble came from deep in the rock, startling Zelda and leaving Link feeling uneasy. Link heard a sound that reverberated in the back of his mind, as though existing in a memory he shared but that was not his own. The doleful music seemed to settle his mind, leaving his soul at peace. Zelda seemed to be unable to perceive the music, as she frantically looked around, wary of her position.
Suddenly, the wall in front of them began to sink into the floor, causing a great shaking. The new opening gave way to an extended hallway. Link felt an unbridled sense of curiosity, and he began to walk forward into the cave, as though hidden by a will not his own.
Zelda came up behind him and grabbed his hand, warning him, "Link, he careful. This ruin is extremely old, and I don't want you getting hurt."
Link smiled back at her, and continued on, more slowly. He pulled out a torch, lit it, and continued on down the new hallway. Eventually, the stonework of the ruins gave way to dirt and a natural cave formation, which then gave way to a solid wood-like substance, like being in a large tree.
At the end of the tunnel was an incredibly deep, and dark hole. "This must go somewhere…" Link said, thinking aloud. He pulled out a second torch, lit it, then dropped it down the hole. The torch fell until no light came from it, and then who knew how long after that.
His curiosity unabated, he looked at his paraglider and then at the travel medallion. Setting the Medallion, he looked to Zelda. "Call me back in 5 minutes, I want to see what is down there."
She looked at him in shock, but he turned and jumped before she could say a thing. And he fell. And he fell.
Weird lights began to pass him by as he fell. Strange shapes formed from the lights, and he wondered if he was hallucinating. Finally seeing something below him, he pulled out the paraglider. Slowly coming down, he noticed a large, unusual plant, a pool of water, and a torchlit room. The whole enclosure seemed to be made of wood.
Link landed on the ground gently, and he put away the glider. He looked about the room, when he suddenly felt disoriented. A moment later, he passed out.
The sky overhead betrayed the storm that was about to hit. Link had seen a few lightning bolts far in the distance, so he was packing up his things. He loved spending time by the water, but he recognized the folly in staying out during a thunderstorm.
His things all gathered up, he looked expectantly out over the water. Suddenly, a streak of red darted out of the water, landing on the shore in front of him. Mipha smiled at him, while Sidon hid behind her legs. Her smile was entrancing, but he remembered that Sidon was present, so he didn't allow himself to be overt in front of the young one.
"All done for the day?" Mipha said with a mock pout.
"Yes," he replied, pointing up at the storm clouds. "No point in taking a risk."
Mipha sighed, then turned to Sidon, saying, "Brother, dear, it is time to go home. It's dangerous to be outside in a storm. We must make our way home."
"What about Mr. Link, big sis? Is he coming home with us?"
"I will make my way back, but I can't swim as fast as you can, little guy," Link replied.
Sidon smiled his big, cheesy, toothy smile, and he and Mipha turned to the water. Mipha looked back and smiled suggestively, then the two of them dived into the water and out of sight.
Link turned, noticing that the clouds had grown ever closer. Setting off, he made his way down the winding path up the Zora River. A flash of lightning gave him pause, and he switched out his gear for a less conductive garment.
The rain caught up to him in no time, coming down in a deluge. Lightning struck all around, and the wind howled against him. This was as bad of a storm as he'd seen. Seeing a cave, he took refuge, holing up until the rain stopped. An hour passed by, but the terrible storm continued onward, raising the river to unprecedented heights. He was safe in his cave, still, but there was cause for worry nevertheless.
Out of the howling wind came a voice, he knew too well. "Link!" Mipha shouted, distress in her voice, "Wherever you are, please hold on, I'm coming for you!"
Link smiled at her concern for him. Pulling out his sword and a piece of flint, he created a fire with the wood he was carrying with him. He waited until he heard the wet sound of feet on moist rock and labored breathing. Getting up and walking towards the front of the cave, the two saw each other. Mipha ran to him, burying her face in his chest as he hugged her closely. "Thank the Goddess you are safe," she breathed, "I was so worried when you did not come back that something terrible had happened."
Link held her tight to himself, feeling bad that he had made her worry so. She shivered from the cold, so he suggested they go further back into the cave where the warm fire would heat her up. They walked back, sitting down next to each other in front of the fire.
The closeness made Link feel hot, his heartbeat rising as the touch of her skin on his left him breathless. She snuggled closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder. He leaned his head on hers, in ecstasy from the close contact. After a minute of sitting in silence, Mipha shifted, turning her head to his. She bit her lip, then leaned in. Turning his head, he met her with a tender kiss. The kiss lingered, and what was tender became impassioned. Their breathing became heavy as they kissed. Mipha moved her hand to the inside of his leg, up by his knee, as he leaned back on his hands.