Author's Note: We have reached 21,000+ views on this story! Thank-you to every single person who has taken the time to read, review, and give this story a rate; because this story is for you, and wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. And thank-you to everyone who gave me such wonderful reviews about the dip in my reviews, as they all made my day! Oh and do listen to Time's End by Theophany for this chapter!

Reviews: MiniJen: Thank-you so much! I really enjoyed writing that flashback in particular because, like you say, it was very relaxing and not full of the action that I've been writing so much of. I had so many moments where I was stumped with the final Trial, though I think that this is better than I was expecting it to be anyway. I can't wait for Light and Shadow, and your other stories too!

ShadowNinja1011: You don't know how much that has made my day! :3

Schniedragon88: Yep, the end is drawing very near, and I'm so glad that the flashback wasn't too terrible. I really like the four Goddesses/four Heroes idea, so I certainly will be using that one; though you will have to wait until the next chapter until that happens. I wanted it in this chapter, but I couldn't find any point to slip it into. Still, I hope that you enjoy the chapter nonetheless.

TDDolphin: I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. There hasn't been all that much action in the past few chapters, even if you still enjoyed them, but I will say that action will be coming up very soon in this story (because I haven't been planning out the end since this first began at all...). Thank-you so much!

CupcakePride101: That would be so amazing. I think I might need to see where I could slip the Mirror into place! I really liked this part of the game, and especially the final Trial/Sky Keep/end-game stuff. It was the part that stood out to me because you knew that things were going to be all right, and then the final boss stuff happened. I agree with that, especially with the battles. It took me forever to figure out what the Circlet would look like, so I'm glad that you liked it!

Daisy Bokoblin: *blushes* Thank-you! It's no problem about that. I don't mind at all. You don't know how much your reviews, along with every other one, has made my day. I never knew how much my writing had progressed, so I thank you for highlighting it and making my lifetime! Here's the next chapter now! :3

Favourites & Follows: Thank-you to "Vyletta Fae" and "female transformer toa" for favouriting this story. I love you all!

"Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralysing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out."

~Mitch Albom~

Ancient Roots

A Skyward Sword FanFiction

Chapter 42: Time

I scream, tears streaming down my face as I push my arm out further to meet his. He's falling into this giant abyss of pure whiteness, deep into the abyss of nothingness. I could allow this to happen, but something searing in the back of my mind is telling me that a potent darkness is waiting in disguise, and that it's after Link. I can't let that happen. As I continue on my flying pursuit, our hands grow only millimetres apart from each other, yet he keeps getting dragged down further and further, and farther away from me.

I force my body into a position so that I can fall faster, and it greatly aids me in my fight. As time literally slows down, I find myself releasing a form of battle cry as I grab onto his pale hand, closing my fingers in around his. I draw his body towards mine, drinking in his delicious scent as I snuggle closely into his shoulder. I flinch when we suddenly halt in what I could call mid-air, even if there is so much whiteness here that it would almost seem like an obscure comment.

Nonetheless, I take solace in knowing that I finally have him back.

He finally opens his eyes, and my rapidly beating heart halts as his sky blue eyes lock onto mine. They blur with confusion, and I cannot help but notice a string of gold stitch in and out of his pupils, distorting the boy that I know and love.

"Zelda?" he whispers, using his free hand to caress my face ever so slightly in recognition. If I could slump against his body in relief, then I would.

I lose all sense of time and reality as we embrace each other, my tears returning with full force; not that they had ever stopped; as I cling so tightly to his body that I could merge my body with his. He drags his hand across my hair, fingers becoming entangled with my blonde strands as I find myself visibly relaxing after such a strenuous battle. "Don't ever leave me again, Link," I whisper deep into his shoulder, sobbing loudly, as we're holding each other like we always do.

"Oh, Your Grace, but he must," a voice suddenly enters this strange realm, chanting out for the one that I had barely managed to save from the doom that was looming above him. The voice that calls out, however, seems almost familiar to me. Something deep within my spirit recognises the person's voice and soul, yet I can't put my finger on it. I also realise how they speak in the ancient language of the Surface, something that I have struggled to master over time.

I cuddle closer to Link. "W-Who are you?" I ask, even if it is more to calm myself than to identify the actual voice.

The presence that I cannot see, although, replies in a cryptic manner; one that I feel suits their aura near perfectly. "He bears something we need. And we must obtain it..." I am suddenly lifted into the air by some sort of force, almost like thick threads or vines have wrapped around my body. Whatever holds me leaves me suspended in the air, leaving Link free to be pulled back by shadows. "Say good-bye to him, Your Majesty, because you will never see him again."

My heart hammers against my chest as I struggle, crying out with all of my might as the shadows once in disguise start to consume him. Whatever holds me continues its hot persistence, though, and I can tell that they are not giving up on me any time soon. They continue to wind around my feeble body, tightening the more that I struggle. But I will not cease. I am so much stronger than that.

"Link!" I cry out in vain.

Our hands meet one last time before we are eternally separated, both his screams and mine deafening me completely as I am lost in the torrent of my own mind.

The world around be is suddenly transformed into that of an endless field, the sky an empty white—bodies of those who I know in this life and my previous life are scattered around me, eyes wide and unblinking.

Sinking to my knees, I mourn my loss.

"Join us, Sister."

"Please no…"

"It is time for the Needle of Time to stitch the Thread of Fate, and for destiny to finally decide."

But I can only see the bodies of those I've killed.

"Join us, Sister…"

~*O*~

I tear free from the nightmare with a gasp, clutching my nightdress with quaking fingers as I try my best to catch my breath. Falling back against the bed, my hair flies up around me before settling, my heart trying its best to settle too. I hold Link's bedsheets close to me as I shake, too terrified to think straight.

This same damn dream has haunted me before the Goddess's Mission even began—and I'm starting to fear about the messages it's trying to send me.

I returned to Skyloft with the Song of the Hero in my hand, my mind spinning with joy at the thought of having it complete in my hand. Despite the doom and gloom of Skyloft, I tried my best to keep peoples' spirits up as I helped them in the rebuilding of homes before retiring to Link's chambers to rest—unsure of what to do next, but desperate for one good night of rest.

With the memory of Hylia and Queen Zelda still lingering in my mind, I cleaned and fixed up my destroyed dress and cleaned myself up, stocking up on supplies and eating whatever food could be spared. Even though I can't spend too much time here, I know that wherever this Mission takes me next will need me as rested and healed as possible to face it.

And with my shield around the island still in effect and the Knights diligently patrolling the island day and night, I managed to sleep well until the nightmares arrived.

Swallowing thickly, I'm both glad and saddened that I didn't wake Link up. When I was first gifted with the Timeshift Stone, Link was very aware of my emotions and when I was awake, but as time has passed, I can feel him growing more tired and in desperate need of rest; sleeping for almost the entire time I was back in Skyloft.

I pray for the day when his suffering finally ends.

"Your Grace…"

I jump at the sound of the voice, sitting upright automatically. The voice sounded like it was close by, however when I poke my head outside there's no one around. And yet, when I step back inside, a ball of blue and white light hovers in front of me. I reach out for it in anticipation, only for it to dart through the door behind me and out into the corridor.

Something's not right.

Taking a deep breath, I change out of my nightdress, grab my things and quickly follow after it.

Wincing at the loud creaking of Link's door, I spot the orb waiting for me by the steps, and following it leads me onto the top floor of the Knight Academy and into the open air. The full moon is high in the sky, its heavenly glow partially muffled by clouds, stars around it twinkling down at me. Assuring a pair of Knights that I'm alright, I reach up for the Timeshift Stone as I walk after the light; knowing that running around would cause unnecessary alarm.

I can soon feel Link waking up, and through his daze he's quick to check if I'm alright.

'I'm fine,' I assure him. 'There's a ball of light leading me through Skyloft.'

He says nothing for a moment, still waking up, then, 'Maybe it's a Wisp?'

I smirk as the orb darts in the direction of the Statue of the Goddess. 'They're just fairy tales, Link.'

'So were yetis,' he retorts, silencing me. 'The Instructors called them "callers of destiny" and appeared to those touched by the Goddess.'

As I make my way up the wooden steps, I realise that he might be right after all. They were just fairy tales, but so have many things we were told as children. If this ball of light truly is a Wisp, then perhaps it's leading the way to the Triforce?

The cool air nips at my nose and tips of my ears as I reach the courtyard, may hair whipping around my face with each sudden gust of wind. After a second, I remember that I left Hylia's Circlet behind, yet I have little time to consider it as I focus on the Wisp.

The ball of light floats above the circular design a few paces ahead, as if in wait for me. I draw the Master Sword, the moon reflecting elegantly off of its magnificent blade, and as I almost reach the Wisp it again disappears—though this time doesn't reappear.

"Play his melody," the voice calls out again as I step into the circular design. "They are waiting for you. Your time is now…"

Sheathing the Master Sword, I do as is asked and pull out my Harp. Raising my head to the moon, the same moon that Hylia appeared under and passed her spirit on into me, I begin to play.

"Oh, Hero,
You will do great things,
Indeed.
Listen to me,
And you'll always be
Unafraid.

"Hero, destiny,
Will guide you
Forever more.
Darkening skies,
It's your life to live.

"Please, never fear,
I'll be right here,
By your side.
In the future,
Your descendants will be my Heroes,
Just as you have been
All these days.

"Darkening skies,
It's your life to live.
Oh, Hero,
You will do great things,
Indeed."

The wind carries my final note off into the night sky. As the last verse fades from my lips, the ground beneath me begins to glow a soft golden, and once it fades a familiar sight is revealed to me.

A Trial Gate.

Oh dear Sisters no…

Even though the Gate is gold and not blue like the others, there's no denying it. After the Trial of Power, I assumed that I had conquered them all. But now here lies another one, and with it dread fills my gut.

'What is it?'

"Dominae," Fi says from within the Master Sword. "You have been shown the final Trial Gate, created by Hylia herself. As with the other Gates, you must strike the centre with your sword to enter it."

I swallow thickly and nod, wondering what on earth this Trial could be testing.

But I think of nothing.

Desperate to get this final Trial over with once and for all, I tuck away my Harp and draw the Master Sword, raising it high above the Trial Gate.

Please… please let this be the last obstacle between me and the end of this, I pray. I don't know how much more I can take…

'You're strong enough to overcome the Trial, Zelda,' Link promises. 'You're almost there. I'll be waiting for you when you come back.'

Keeping his words close, I stab down into the Trial Gate, praying that this is the last time I feel this world fall away from me as I'm taken into the final Trial.

I stand in the Silent Realm's twisted version of Skyloft—one filled with a silver and blue haze but also lacking the horrors that are there now. The ground beneath my feet isn't muddied or scorched with flames, the island in the distance isn't damaged by the barbaric attack lead by the Demon Lord, the Bazaar is still standing, and if I strain my ears, I can hear laughter.

My gut twists.

Why would the Goddesses want me to see such happy things when both they and I know what will become of it?

Unless they want me to see what Skyloft will go back to…

"Mistress," Fi calls out to me, cutting off my train of thought. "You have entered the last of the Trials—the Goddess's Silent Realm. After tempering your courage, wisdom, and power, you will now be tested on the Goddess's own attribute—time."

I swallow thickly, "Thank you Fi."

Giving me time to think alone, her voice disappears into the night. Reaching up to my neck, I can't feel my necklace and long for Link's presence back in the outside world. Unlike me, he knows what to say to keep people calm and their spirits up. And right now, despite his encouraging words lingering in the back of my mind, I wish that I didn't have to do this alone.

But I don't have a choice.

Some walks you have to take alone.

Without hesitation, I step out from the protective circle, so used to the calm world bleeding away and a high-pitched scream piercing the air that I barely react. My world is shrouded in a white light, and to my surprise, when my vision finally adjusts, I find myself in a strange land.

I stand in an endless grassy plain, azure skies above shining brightly behind fluffy clouds. Tiny orbs of light bounce between the blades of grass, inspecting me for a moment before darting away. A gentle breeze ruffles my dress, and I can't help but feel unnerved by the tranquillity around me.

Something's wrong.

My eyes soon land on a grassy knoll in the distance, a large tree at the top of it. Starting towards the hill, and I soon spot a small figure sitting on the ground against the tree. The closer I get to the tree, the less orbs of light seem to dance around me, and by the time I stand beneath the shade of the tree my gut twists at the strange energy surrounding me.

But when my eyes fall onto the small person a few feet away, I swallow thickly at the sight.

They're only a child, a mop of blonde hair obscuring their lowered head, bare feet poking out from their white dress as they hug their body close to them as if they'd never been hugged before. As I kneel down onto the ground, the girl, I realise, raises her head; hands scrunching around her dress.

The child is a reflection of myself when I was but a child.

She's so young… so innocent…

"It's you," she says softly, her voice the same as mine. "You're finally here…"

"I'm finally here…"

She tilts her head at me. "You're in pain. Your life is full of hurt, isn't it?"

"It has."

She rises to her feet and takes one of my hands into hers. "You're close to being happy again, Zelda. But we have to play a game first. Shall we play?"

I nod, and moments later my vision goes dark.

It takes a long time for my eyes to refocus on everything. The air is cooler wherever I stand now, and night has descended—the moon and stars snuffed out by the dense clouds above. Thunder grumbles in the distance, flashes of lightning periodically illuminating the sky behind the clouds. The muddy earth beneath me has been stained with blood, as if there was a battle here not long ago, and it isn't long before I realise where I am.

I stand in front of the Temple of Hylia not long after Hylia sealed away Demise and sent away a cut of land into the sky.

Swallowing thickly, I lean over the edge of the pit below and am almost sick at the sight.

Hundreds of bodies are strewn across the ground, soldiers and civilians alike. Some of them are generals that Hylia recognises, and others are friends and family that Zelda recognise. The sight of them is sickening, and I can't help but take a moment to regain my composure.

This is what will happen if I don't end this…

Having nowhere else to go, I slowly begin to make my way down the pit, memories from both of my lives identifying the bodies as I go. Whilst Hylia knew many of the generals, she also met some of the soldiers—some as young as sixteen. Many of the civilians were fleeing before being struck down by the Demon Army, families torn apart just like the ones in Skyloft weeks ago.

The further I move down the pit, the bodies soon become those that Zelda recognises. Many of the Knights that she grew up with are among them, bloodied weapons still in their tight grips even after death. Others are those who have already been lost to this world during the attack on Skyloft and those who are in the Sealed Temple in the present helping my cause.

Even my own Father, his skin pale as he lies slumped against one of the walls.

I'm ready to be sick as I emerge at the bottom of the pit, but the Goddesses refuse to give me a break. The ground shifts from earth to cobble, the Seal upon Demise glowing in the night beneath the newest Bearer—my Link. A pair of torches have been knocked down, various sigils painted onto the walls bursting with dark energy.

Wisps of golden light surround his body, shadows stalking them as they ready themselves to claim them for their own designs. My body freezes up at the sight, and I stagger over towards his vulnerable form before collapsing to my knees beside him, my hands shaking as they hover over his form—I'm too scared to touch him.

I've run out of time…

Covering my face, I let out a ragged sob, desperately wracking my brain for a way out of this horrible situation.

And yet, when I lower my hands, the girl stands on the other side of Link.

"This… this isn't real," I breathe. "You want me to see what could happen so I don't lose sight of my goal, don't you?"

She giggles, "But what if this is real?"

I blink. "No… you're wrong—none of this is true!"

The little girl makes her way towards me and kneels opposite me. "Grief is a powerful thing, Zelda. There's no closure, only fear and the inability to carry on as you were before." A light spell of rain begins to fall upon another groan of thunder. "The first stage of grief is denial, a defensive mechanism against ill circumstance typified by an inability to rationally acknowledge that something has happened or is happening."

My lips part at her words, and I can't help but glance down at Link, my heart constricting as the rain begins to make the blood on his face seem like watercolour. She is right, but I don't understand why she's telling me this. I know that grief is powerful and that I live in constant fear of failure, so why tell me this when I need to stop everything around me from coming to pass?

This is a Trial based on Hylia's own attributes—time.

And this is what will happen if I run out of it.

"Why are you doing this?!" I cry out, my hands balling into fists as I stare her down. "I know that I've failed in the past, but why do you wish to make me grieve for something that hasn't happened yet?!"

"Because it may still happen."

I grit my teeth. "Then free me from this Trial and let me end this before anything like this could happen!"

Another giggle.

Another clap of lightning.

The rain continues to pour.

"Because you must understand," is all she says for a moment, then, "The second stage of grief is anger. When denial is no longer possible, it is replaced by misdirected feelings of despair and envy." I go to say something, but I can't. "Do you hate your destiny?"

"W-What?"

"Do you hate the Goddesses for thrusting this destiny upon you?" The little girl continues. "Do you ever wish that your path was different?"

I swallow thickly.

"Sometimes," I relent after a pregnant silence, lowering my head. "Maybe if my path was different, then maybe so many people wouldn't have suffered—wouldn't have died." Lifting my head, I meet her eyes evenly. "But what does it matter? This is my destiny and I can't change that. Why wish to change something that can't be changed?"

She smiles. "You're right; these things cannot be changed. But then… who would be left to save him?"

My fingers stretch out to touch his cheek, trembling as I note his partially open eyes and how the bright blue of his irises is nothing but grey and glassy. No matter how much I may curse the Goddesses for what they have done to my life, I could never give up my destiny if it meant leaving him to fight alone.

I love him too much.

"Please… what do you want from me?" I ask her softly without looking her way. Tears burn at the edges of my eyes as I study his face, my other hand reaching down for one of his. "I can save him… I can save them all, but please just tell me what you want. I'll do whatever you want, but please just let me leave this place! I can't let this happen in reality!"

I can see her shuffling towards me in the corner of my eye, though I don't dare to move as I stay close to Link, praying that I can leave here and end this once and for all.

But I can't leave until they let me leave.

"The third stage of grief is bargaining, typified by desperate hopes or efforts to postpone or reverse suffering and loss," she explains to me. "The right thing… what is it? I wonder… if you do the right thing, does it make everyone happy?"

A chill runs down my spine.

Will doing the right thing make everyone happy?

Will saving Link right all the wrongs that I've caused?

Will defeating Demise truly stop any darkness from rising up again?

In trying my best to complete the Goddess's Mission and save the newest Bearer from being sacrificed, so many people that I love have bled, suffered, and even died because I haven't been able to protect them. Saving Link is my priority, but I still need to look after the vulnerable too.

Where is the line, the threshold, this balance that I have been trying to find for so long?

What if… what if I can't end this?

What if everything I've done up until now will all be for nothing?

Then everyone who has stood beside me, everyone who we've lost, will all have fought in vain.

I will have failed them all…

And it's all my fault.

"I really am just a failure…"

The sound of my own voice finally saying it breaks the dam.

I cover my mouth, failing to hold back a sob as the tears finally break free from my eyes, streaming down my face as the reality of everything comes crashing down around me. The rain falls harder and thunder tears through the earth beneath me. Collapsing against Link, I bury my face in his still chest and let myself be consumed by hopelessness.

A small hand touches my back. "The fourth stage of grief is depression. With the realization that there is no escaping fate comes the desire to disconnect and retreat inward." I don't respond, her words hitting me like a knife to the heart. "You've met with such a terrible fate, haven't you?"

And there's no way to end it…

'Oh, but there is,' a voice coos in my ear. I raise my head and straighten, as if moved by puppet strings—Threads of Fate almost. Even though tears still run down my cold cheeks, the sudden force supresses my sobs. For a moment, the world falls away and I only focus on the voice.

"T-There is?" I mumble, my voice like a child's.

'There is, my dear,' they reply, a clawed thumb drying my tears. 'All of this pain… all of this torture can end. The light has given you nothing but suffering, hasn't it, my dear?'

Before I can stop myself, I hear my emotionless voice respond, "It has…"

Shadows wrap themselves around me, and my pain goes away.

'Can you feel it, my dear? Can you feel your suffering fading away?'

"Yes… I can…"

'The darkness can take away your pain. The Goddesses can't see how beautiful the darkness is… but you can, can't you?' I nod numbly. 'You ran out of time, but the darkness can heal you. The darkness can end your pain for good…'

"F-For good?"

A clawed hand caresses my face. 'For good, my dear. For good…'

As I open my mouth to reply, another voice calls out to my mind.

"Time is a concept that all mortals fear. When one loses time, they cannot regain it," Hylia, I realise, says as a softer hand stroking my hair back. "The horrors you have witnessed in the past have plagued your heart with grief, and only when mortals are at their lowest will the darkness threaten to consume them."

The clawed hand tightens its grip around my face.

I'm always going to run out of time…

"But you haven't yet, have you?" I blink a few times, confused. "Here you stand in a realm that reflects your worst nightmare—the fear of time running out when you need it the most. But, outside of this realm, he waits for you; alive and well and waiting for you to wake him up. So, my dear, when time is working against you, will you allow your fears and the darkness nurtured within you to be your undoing… or will you fight through your greatest fears to save this world and yourself?"

The softer hand retracts itself from the back of my head, and her voice fades away.

I blink, and for a moment I'm back in the protective circle beneath the Statue of the Goddess.

My grief and pain made me forget why I was doing this to begin with.

I blink again and I'm back at the bottom of the pit, but something's changed inside of me.

Time has never been on my side, as Zelda or as Hylia, but I can't allow my greatest fears of running out of time to consume me. I can't allow the dark thoughts at the back of my mind to gnaw away at my sanity until I begin to fall into the grip of the shadows.

I can't lose myself if I want to save everyone else.

After all this time, I never really thought about myself.

But now, when everything hangs in the balance, I can't forget about myself.

"I won't stop being scared of what might happen," I mutter, the strength in my voice growing as I speak. "But I won't let it stop me. No matter what may try and push me down and crush my spirit, I refuse to give in. I won't bow down to the darkness and I never will!"

"The final stage of grief is acceptance," the little girl says, suddenly disappeared from the realm. "After passing through the other stages, all that is left is to examine one's own self and reality and face the future. Although no one may ever recover from their grief, by moving on the depths of depression and moving on they accept the future with open arms."

Cupping Link's face, I whisper, "I will save you no matter what, my love." Squeezing his hand and standing, I call out to the pit of bodies, "I will save you all no matter what!"

The world falls away from me and my vision is filled with white, and after a moment the little girl appears and takes a step towards me. "If you forever look to the past, then you will see nothing of your future. Make your days count and bring your life meaning—once you do, the darkness will never taint your light, for you are the candle in the darkness."

Despite all I've seen, I can't help but smile.

As she places a light blue bud into my hand and closes my fingers around it, the little girl smiles at me warmly. "Thank you for playing with me, Zelda. Now go and end this war once and for all…"

Then everything goes dark, and I'm free of my final test of the Goddesses.

Author's Note: Well, I certainly didn't expect to get this done by today. I hope that the final Trial was satisfying, and the ending wasn't too rushed. Please tell me if it was, because I do feel like it was a little rushed. Anyway, please drop a rate and review if you haven't already, and I hope to see you all soon in the next few chapters. In the next one, I think we will be nearing the climax of this story itself; but there are many chapters still left to go!

~RandomButLoved~