Finally, after months and months of editing, we finally have another chapter! Many, and I mean many thanks to my beta Mystic's Apprentice; you are honestly the best.

Link made his way up the side of the mountain. The brown, dusty, barren earth, the smoldering lava down below, and the strong hot wind that had a faint smell of burning on the edge.

It had been ages since he'd felt this.

Link had never actually explored the volcano from this angle; he had been too busy trying to find Zelda for any of that. But to be honest, he was also too busy seeking her again to actually take that good of a look.

The path before him was narrow and winding as it went under ledges and into caves, before coming out the other side again. He dowsed every now and then to make sure he was on track, and that he was. Zelda's presence was also slightly stronger–not by too much, but it was something.

Zelda. Her aura filled Link with . . . he didn't know how to explain it, but it felt euphoric–if that was the only word he could use to describe it. He wanted to hold her in his arms once more. It was what kept him going.

Link had practically burst through the door. Zelda was in the middle of stirring a batter. She looked at him and sighed.

"Is knocking really that hard, sleepyhead?" Her tone carried a hint of playfulness.

"Well..." Link scratched the back of his head, eyes on the floor. "I mean, it's not every day we get to spend time like this."

Zelda shook her head, before walking over to Link and giving him a small kiss. It wasn't anything intense, but it was all he needed. They parted, and Zelda lead him to the kitchen quarters.

"Alright, seeing as you're here, wanna help bake these cookies?"

Link nodded eagerly. It had been ages since they had time together, no one else.

When Zelda had finished mixing, Link spooned portions onto the tray, finishing it off with some pumpkin seeds. They put it in the oven and sat back.

Zelda picked up her knitting needles and yarn and began to knit, Link resting his head on her lap. The birds tweeting outside. It was a serene moment, and it seemed to go on forever.

Occasionally Zelda put her needles down and ran her hand through Link's fluffy hair, smoothing it out, then continued.

Since the weather had been getting colder, they had to start planning things out. It was their second year down here, so they were still trying to get a grip on the timing, stocking up on food and clothing and the likes. Last year there had been an issue with not having made some type of shelter for the loftwings.

They hadn't known about winter for a long time, until Faron had mentioned it during one of her visits with Zelda.

For the most part, the townspeople had to keep the giant birds in their houses, the temple and the goddess statue. Those good three months had been very, very cramped. Fortunately, this time they had a coop for the birds to stay.

Zelda got up to check on the cookies, leaving Link curled up in the spot where she had been. After letting them sitting for a bit, she carried them over on a plate and set them on the coffee table in front of them. She passed Link a cookie before taking her own.

"Link, have you recently felt like... something's going to happen?" Zelda was fidgeting with the cookie in her hands, tone uneasy. "Like, something bad. I've been trying to put my mind on other matters, but it just won't go away."

"I've been feeling the same, it feels unsafe, kinda like that time when we flew across the clouds–the day you were taken." Link bit his lip, before taking another bit of his cookie.

They sat there in silence, allowing themselves to contemplate.

"Maybe it's just some of the residual stress we felt from the journey–but then if that's the case, why are we only feeling it now?"

"Maybe it was some of the stress from building the town that caused this?" Zelda suggested.

"Don't think so. Everything was actually going pretty smoothly with only few slip ups here and there. It feels more like an impending dread than anything, like something is out to get you."

Everything was perfect; Link and Zelda had recognized their feelings for each other, the town was making huge leaps in terms of progress, and monster sightings were less frequent... they should have no reason to feel apprehensive, but yet they were.

The path had been going underground for a long time now, and only seemed to go deeper; Link was starting to feel a bit skeptical. Nevertheless he carried on, reasoning that at some point it would lead back up to the surface.

But it only went deeper.

And deeper.

Link had just come to a crossroad. While the path on the left seemed to go higher and the right lower, for all he knew either could lead deeper into the mountain. Dowsing wasn't going to get him out of here; just because a route was in the general direction didn't mean it was going to get him up to the surface.

Just then, a goron emerged from the right-hand tunnel.

"Hey brother, you need some help?"

Link nodded. The goron walked toward him, stopping at about two feet away.

"So, where you tryna get?"

"The surface,"

"I'm afraid the tunnel's been closed off–been a bunch of monsters around here. One of my buds got a good shard cut off him by those creeps!"

He should have expected this. Fate had been too easy on him up until now.

"Well, is there another way?"

"Yeah, but it's a long way off and I'm not sure if it leads to where you're heading."

"I'm heading to the north; any chance it leads there?"

"Hmm, think so, but again: it's a long way from here. Think you're gonna try?" The goron scratched his head.

Link nodded. "Any directions you could give me?"

"Go forward, you will find a crossroad. Pick the one on the left. Continue going forward, and you will reach Goron City–there you can ask for directions and maybe have a place to stay."

"Thank you,"

"No problem bud!" The goron yelled as he rolled by.

As Link continued down his path, it grew hotter and hotter. Thankfully, there seemed to be some kind of ventilation to stop him from suffocating, but even then what little air he had felt thick and stuffy. His legs were getting tired and his throat was quite parched. Link took a sip from his flask, and carried on.

He arrived at the crossroads, and by this point it was so dark he had to light a lantern. He picked the tunnel on the left.

His heels began to ache, the arm that was carrying the lantern was starting tire and his eyelids were beginning to droop. And yet, after what Link could only assume to be hours in these dark tunnels, not once had he met another goron or seen any signs him approaching of Goron City.

Link began to wonder if the goron's directions had been correct.

After finally deciding to call it a day, Link settled down in a corner, putting his stuff beside him, and tried to fall asleep.

Sun bathed the paving laced with grass in its crevices, the faint sound of chatter in the distance, a huge tree overlooking their valley. Link was sitting on the lower-levels of the viewing platform alongside Groose. They were on break, but would have to go back to building more houses within an hour.

Groose was sketching all kinds of designs for the "planes." Some were more robust and others were sleek and streamlined. He had also picked up a book on loftwing movement, to study on how the birds kept themselves up in the air.

Link had spotted Stritch looking for bugs with one of the kids, Gully. Apparently having found one, the latter whooped in excitement. Stritch then told Gully about all the places where bugs hid, and how to find them and when to find them. Link chuckled at the sight. Looks like Stritch was going to have a little disciple following him around.

"Oi Link, you think this one'll have enough storage?" Groose waved the sketchpad in front of Link's face.

"Can't tell when you're waving it about like a madman!" Link said, taking hold of the sketchpad. "Eh, what can I say? Everything seems to be in order."

He handed Groose back his sketchpad, just as Zelda strolled up to them.

"Lemme guess, break's over?"

"Yep."

Link groaned, lifting himself off the ground. He picked up his tools and joined everyone else on a half-done villa. Zelda had said she planned for the building to be a school of some sort, seeing as the academy was the only one of its kind and not everybody would want to train for knighthood.

The process was going fine, until Groose had to climb up to place the tiles. He balanced on the beam, leaning over to smother concrete on the blank slate of a roof.

"Groose, you sure about that, buddy? You're a lot larger and heavier than most of the guys that do this," Pipit said.

"Pah! Nonsense–if anyone's fit for the job, it's Groose."

Link and few of the others promptly facepalmed. Groose, despite having changed a lot over the years, still had a cocky streak.

"Look man, how about I go up there and do it?"

"Pip I'm all good. See?" He leaned a little too much for Link's liking.

It happened all too soon. Either Groose misplaced his step or a tile had given way. Before anyone knew it, the burly man was on the ground. Link immediately ran up towards Groose.

"Hey, Groose–hey!" Link yelled. Groose was unresponsive. Link lifted up his head, only to feel something wet. Link pulled back his hand, his fingers drenched in the vile liquid.

It was black, pouring out of a fissure in his skull and dying both his hair and the grass beneath him a dark shade. Link's mouth was agape in horror. This was a sign of things to come.

Link was awoken by a rough scratching on the tunnel walls. He didn't know where it was coming from, but it freaked him out. Groggily sitting up, Link looked around for his lantern. It was so dark, so he could only feel for it. The sharp scratching, clicking sound seemed to echo a bit closer this time.

Link scrambled through his bag to find the oil and lighter, but his fingers only seemed to tangle together. He was getting frantic now, the clicking only seemed to get closer and closer.

Link promptly drew his sword and jabbed out in front of him, only for something to grab him from behind. Pincers jabbing into his sides, Link let out a yelp. He kicked the creature off and swerved around. Jabbing it somewhere that Link could only hope was a weak spot, and the creature let out a shriek.

Link closed in, getting a good feel with his sword before plunging the blade in what he assumed was the creature's mouth cavity. With a final piercing wail it fell still.

Link scrambled through the bag once more, finally having found the accursed oil and lighter. He got his lantern, poured in some of the oil and lit it. He could see around him now, the shadows bouncing off the wall, and the dead creature in front of him.

It was bug-like, and seemed to almost look like a strange mix between an enlarged Eldin-roller and a scorpion. Round, bulbous body with sharp pincers, eight slender legs and a small tail. Link hesitantly reached out and searched the body, hoping it'd have something of use. He pulled off the exoskeleton, wondering if this could be of use later on. Something spilled out of its guts, something shiny. Link grabbed it and cleaned it off with his shirt.

It was a ruby. From what he had gathered, they were quite rare and very valuable; not as precious as diamonds, but still, they were valuable.

Link tucked the gemstone away in his satchel. How the bug had come to swallow the ruby, Link didn't know. Maybe it fed off of them.

He reached into his pack and took out a small piece of meat and some stale bread. A meager meal, but Link wasn't feeling particularly peckish. He got up, the grogginess long gone, and continued to head down the tunnel. He kept his sword in hand–who knew what else could be down there. By that point it became so hot that Link was glad he'd kept the Fire-Shield earrings on all these years.

Link noticed that some weird, sinewy, vine-like structures started to appear along the wall. They only became more frequent and larger in number as he carried on. Link was seriously starting to doubt the accuracy of the goron's directions. A few moments later Link swore that he felt something were touching him, only to turn around to find nothing.

More than once he considered going back. But if this path was the right one, it'd be best he continue. As he continued, the creeping feeling only became stronger. The longer he spent down there, the more unsettled he became. It was very faint–and without a keen one, one might miss it–but Link knew this smell, this heavy feeling in the air.

Dark magic.

By this point, the dark, sinewy vines nearly covered all the walls in the tunnel. You could hardly see any bare stone by then. Upon closer inspection, the structures seemed to have... little eyes? Little glowing yellow eyes with slitted-pupils, like some kind of snake.

Was that vine...moving?

Link felt something grab his ankle as he swerved around to face it, slicing it off with his sword.

Apparently, these things were sentient. Link noticed that part of the ankle area of his boot seemed to have been eaten away by some kind of corrosive acid. He considered turning back once again, but whenever he tried, his eye would start throbbing almost painfully.

"If you insist," Link grumbled.

Link decided to do a little test. He grabbed a stick from his bag, and held it to the lantern's blaze. When there was a tiny little flame on the end of the stick, Link held it to one of the gooey organisms. A sharp hiss was emitted, as the flame charred the thing to a crisp.

If need be he could throw a torch at the structures to buy him some time to escape, should the need arise.

Link grabbed a stick from his bag, tied a hanky around the tip, and poured oil over it before igniting it. He waved the torch about at the formations, which seemed to respond by cringing away from the flame.

That'll do.

The hero made his way forth down the tunnel, waving his torch if anything got too close for comfort. Once or twice he had to burn a vine because it just wouldn't back off. Eventually, the tunnel had led to a large cavern.

It seemed like the vines converged into a center point in the cavern. They lead up the walls, hanging down from the ceiling in a grotesque display. And the lighting from Link's torch only made it even more ominous. He felt something brushing up against his skin, burning his cheek. Link immediately swung out his torch.

That's it, time to go!

Link swerved to face the entrance, only to see that the grotesque, slimy abominations had woven themselves tightly over it. Link dashed up, prepared to burn the vines away, only to be snatched up and find himself dangling from the ceiling.

Link swung his torch at the vine and it released him. He then frantically backed up against a wall, waving the torch wildly in front of him, only to find himself bound to the wall by said structures. The vines coursed over the left side of his face, causing Link to scream.

The memories. How that sick bastard threw him into the flames, burning him to a crisp like he once promised.

He tried to pull away, but those... things only held him tighter. When he looked ahead, he could have sworn he'd seen the face he dreaded most, only for him to blink and find it gone. There was no escaping this, he could barely move his shoulders. He was going to die–

The center point. All the vines converged into the center point.

Link lifted his arm, wincing as the acidic formations tried to engulf it, and threw the torch as far as he could.

It landed directly in the center of the cavern.

It was slow at first, but he could hear the telltale hiss of burning, as the vines presumably were cooked to a crisp. The vines a few feet away started to go limp and crackle, then burst into a deep purple dust. The vines' hold on him had also gotten weaker, and, as much as they tried to pull him back, Link managed to tear himself away, stumbling straight onto the ground.

Link let out a sigh of relief.

The crackling and hissing continued, and even though by that point the pungent smell of dark magic currently choked the air, it wouldn't for long.

Link reached out for his lantern that had dropped in the fray, clinging onto it like a lifeline. He picked up his pack, sword, and shield. Laying in a little heap on the stoney ground, Link cracked his left eye open just a little, and saw that the entrance was open again, a slight throbbing accompanying it. He closed his eyes again, his body consumed by fatigue, and slipped into slumber.

Hours later, Link awoke from the land of sleep. Rubbing his eyes, Link was reminded of the night before.

He prepared himself for departure, heaving himself off the hard ground. But as soon as he took few steps to the exit, the throbbing began once again. Link turned around to find a chest where the roots had been.

Turquoise-blue with golden accents, just like he'd remembered. Link sauntered over to it and lifted the lid. Right at the bottom of the chest was a whistle. A blue whistle with an odd shape.

Link held it in his hands, his fingers brushing over it. It felt... powerful. Link put the mouthpiece to his lips and played a tune. It was like he'd always known how to play it.

O youth guided, by the servant of the goddess,

unite earth and sky,

and bring light to the land.

He could feel the energy rushing through him like a storm. His eyes grew moist, and he was beginning to choke.

He remembered the first time he heard it, when Zelda showed him her outfit before anyone else. The day of the Wing Ceremony, where he proved himself worthy and stood on top of the goddess statue with her. That was the day she had first played it.

Ever since then, she'd played it many times over, even reciting verses that had been lost to the ages. He always associated the song with her–it seemed like it was made just for her, and no doubt, it was: it was called the Ballad of the Goddess, after all. Sure, there were people with strong, spectacular voices whom, one could say, sung it much better than her, but Link always felt like she really knew the song, the tone of it.

Which made it even worse when he played it, and she wasn't there.

He wiped his tears and tucked it away in his pouch. This would probably be of use later on.

Link took a look around the cavern, now that it was clean. The dais the chest was on had the symbol of the Triforce engraved into it, and there was a tall pillar placed in every corner of the room; some largely remained intact, but others were all but a pile of rubble on the ground.

All along the ancient walls were scripts in an ancient language that Link had seen a few times. Zelda said it was the language of the gods, and that only priests, Sheikah, and those that directly served Hylia could learn it. By the time of the ancient war, this language was essentially a secret code.

Link noticed an inscription on the wall, which seemed to form a pattern with various arrow shapes. They appeared to be notes to a song. He put his mouth to the flute, and began to play the tune to the best of his ability.

The song sounded almost mourning, longing. Sometimes Link could swear that some parts sounded like the Ballad of the Goddess. When he had finished playing it, a slate dropped off the wall, revealing a little crevice, and a book.

Link stuffed the flute away in his pouch and rushed up to the wall to take the book in his hand. It was old and weathered, but still well preserved from being hidden underground. He turned the first page, and as he half expected, it was in the language of the gods.

There were drawings depicting all sorts of locations, temples and what appeared to be deities of some sort.

A book that could hold, or lead to places that held, the answers to all his questions about his destiny, or why all this started in the first place–and yet, he couldn't learn any of this because the text was all in another language.

Link stuffed the book away in his pack before making his way to the entrance of the room. As he stepped out he heard a loud thud behind him. He turned around, and found that what had been the entrance to the room was now sealed off by a stone wall. If there was anything else in that room–which Link highly doubted–chances were that he'd be unable to get it.

Much to his surprise, Link saw that the tunnel actually had continued on from here. The formations covering every inch of the wall were likely the culprit to the tunnel's closure.

As Link carried on the path, lantern in hand, he remembered something Groose mentioned about the Sheikah: during his stay on the surface with Impa, Groose would listen to her speak of the Sheikah. She said that they constantly roamed the land, visiting sacred sights and protecting them from the shadows. She further added that they'd kept the evil at bay for a long time, before Ghirahim came out of hiding, that is.

Maybe, just maybe, he'd run into them. But seeing as his mission was to find Zelda, and they were masters of stealth, there was little chance that'd happen.

But a chance nonetheless.

I felt so, so guilty about not adding more within quicker notice- but I wanted the foundation of the story to be strong, as if it wasn't, everything else after that would simply fall flat. I am happy to say that I am satisfied with the earlier chapters, much in part to the criticism and guidance of Mystic.

If you have any complaints, criticisms or things you may or may not like about the story, tell me. It can really help to know that I'm not writing into a void :)