"Open your eyes…"

It was so cold. He couldn't feel anything.

"Open your eyes."

That voice. That voice. So collected, composed, yet with the slightest tone of urgency. It struck a chord within him, and all of the sudden, feeling returned to his limbs. Where was he? It was so cold. So cold.

"Open your eyes. Wake up, Link."

Her. Her voice.

All at once, a plethora of images flashed in his mind. The Divine Beasts. The Champions. Princess Zelda. The Guardians. Calamity Ganon. That's right. That's right. That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right. Why was he here? He had to get up. Just get up, get up and fight. He needed to just get up.

Slowly, his eyes opened and he found himself staring at a dark, patterned ceiling. He felt the cool liquid that engulfed his body slowly drain, leaving nothing but the sharp, unforgiving air that smelled like musk. He suppressed the urge to cough and blinked.

'Get up.' He thought, clenching his fists. But that was easier said than done. His entire body felt sore, and somehow, he was almost out of breath. The blasts from those damned Guardians must have left his body in a far worse state than he thought. More than once, he had to jump in front of the princess to block against a blast aimed at her. Even with the Hylian shield, the sheer force from their lasers made it feel like he was trying to block a charging Lynel.

'The Princess… Princess Zelda. I need to find her. Where am I? Where is she?'

With an audible groan of effort, he managed to pull himself up. He quickly scanned his surroundings, but couldn't find any sign of the princess. Strange, considering he could have sworn that he heard her voice. He was surprised to find that he actually recognized the place - The Shrine of Resurrection. But why would he…

'Oh.'

The realization rammed into him with the force of a million Gorons. He remembered. He remembered. He wasn't good enough. He fell to the Guardians, didn't he? Had to be saved by the Princess of all people. Some knight he was. He needed to get out of here. How long had he been sleeping here, just sleeping, while all of the other soldiers were getting massacred? While Zelda was being chased by those Guardians? While so many innocent civilians ran for their lives? While -

He shook his head. No, he couldn't think about that. Now, he just had to get out of here. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could make it in time to help in the fight. He just prayed that the Royal Guard was holding out.

Out of the corner of his eye, something catches his attention. It was a pedestal, with bright blue lines inscribing the surface. It made a small beeping noise, and extended itself forward. In the center, was a familiar rectangular object. Frowning, he approached it to get a closer look. As he thought, it was the Sheikah Slate. Zelda always carried it around on their travels. But what was it doing here?

He reached out to touch it, and as soon as he made contact, a voice rang out in his head once more.

"That is a Sheikah Slate. Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber."

Link bit back a gasp. Her voice… It was in his head. He looked around once more to confirm that he was alone. The Princess was communicating through his mind… Was this one of the powers bestowed to her by Hylia? Despite the situation, he couldn't help but feel a small speck of pride flare in his chest. After so much trouble and hardship, he had finally unlocked her powers. She deserved that power, more than anyone.

'Shut up. Just hurry.'

He wasn't entirely sure why it was here, but he quickly grabbed the slate from the pedestal. The door in front of him opened, causing a low rumbling sound to echo through the confines of the chamber. Two chests stood out near some boxes and barrels. He quickly opened them, finding an old shirt and a pair of worn trousers. For the first time since he woke up, he became very aware of the fact that he had been wearing nothing but boxers.

'That explains the cold.' He thought to himself, quickly throwing the ragged clothes on. Were these left here for him? They were being stored in chests, and stuck in the middle of the room, so it seemed rather obvious, but if they were left here for him, then why did they look like this?

Not that he was very picky about clothing, but these clothes were dusty and riddled with holes. He doubted that they would do very well as protection, or even against the natural elements.

He shook his head. Whatever. He could think about that later. For now, his top priority would be getting to the Princess. He failed once - He would not fail again. A glowing pedestal with orange lights flared up brightly in the darkness just ahead of him, as if agreeing with his thoughts. As he walked up to it, her voice entered his mind again.

"Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way."

Link's frown deepened. He wasn't sure why, but a deep sense of foreboding settled in his chest. Something was wrong. He followed her commands, but couldn't shake off the sudden swelling of anxiety. As he held up the slate to the pedestal, the sharp orange lights flashed and changed into a calmer, darker blue, punctuated with a singular beep.

He withdrew his arm and glanced at the screen of the slate - "Sheikah Slate confirmed.", it said.

Just as he finished reading the sentence, a sudden influx of bright, crimson light filled the room. He squinted and instinctively raised his hand up to shield his eyes as the gateway in front of him started to open.

"Link… You are the light," Her voice says, almost wistfully. "Our light. You must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now, go."

What? What was she talking about? His heart started beating faster and faster. Goddess above, what had he missed? With manic, almost desperate energy, he sped up the stairs and towards the light. The bright, yet dim brooding light that was as colorful as a bruise and it was just so wrong . There was a steep ledge, one a fair bit taller than himself. He didn't even process it as an obstacle - his hands automatically reached out and found ledges that he could grip onto. With little effort, he boosted himself up to the top and finally he's greeted with the outside world and…

And…

It was horrible.

The sun was nowhere in sight. Instead, an endless sea of brooding, stormy clouds covered the sky. They were glowing, glowing purple and pink and red and swirling and burning and everything in between and oh Goddess it was like the Calamity itself had taken the form of the sky. Red lightning crackled in the clouds, sinister and explosive. Unable to help himself, Link gasped.

Immediately, he regretted it as the air he inhaled was not the clean, refreshing air that was normally present in Hyrule. Instead, it was a thick, acidic gas that scalded his throat and brought out tears in his eyes. The scent in the air was so repugnant that he doubled over and nearly vomited. It was only through sheer willpower that he managed to quell his stomach and straighten back up.

Seemingly unaccording of his own will, he broke into a sprint. He just ran forward, into the evil haze of the Calamity, ignoring the warm black dirt beneath his feet, ignoring the absence of grass or anything green around him, ignoring the naked trees, until eventually, he found himself on the edge of a cliff.

Hyrule Castle.

No, that wasn't it.

But it was. That's where it was. How could that be? He remembered. He remembered. The castle, it was there, standing, tall and proud and unflinching at the Calamity, so large and grand, grander than Ganon even. It was entirely symbolic of the Hyrule lineage itself. For so long, it had been a landmark as strong and as there as Death Mountain.

Now though. Now, it was just a pillar. A gargantuan, burning pillar of swirling, impenetrable black and purple. It was colossal, spanning what must have been over an acre of land, with endless pulsating roots of malice around its base as if it were some sort of ancient tree. He couldn't even see the end of it - the pillar just shot up through the clouds, as if piercing the heavens and taunting Hylia herself, a stone tower.

Just looking at it made him feel weak. Tiny. Inconsequential. It filled him with feelings of despair and anguish. For a single, time-stopping moment, he considered jumping off the edge. He didn't even have his sword now. Even if he did, what good would it do against that?

It was only for a moment. He gripped the sides of his head. Forced himself to think. Think.

'If the Calamity's grown this much, then I don't have much time. I have to find the Princess.'

Find her. Find her.

Link tore his stare away from the Calamity and looked around him. It looked as if the Earth itself was dying. Instead of the lush, bright patches of green grass that usually covered the ground, there was just dirt. Black, coarse, dirt that was somehow warm. What trees there were left were nothing more than skeletons without a single leaf on their branches. Everything was dead.

He bit on the corner of his lip. Hard . He felt a small trickle of blood begin to drip down the side of his mouth. Annoyed, he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt and began making his way down. He could see the Temple of Time nearby - It was possible that the Princess was seeking shelter there, waiting for him to recover.

He spit onto the ground next to him - The disgusting smell of the Calamity was beginning to form into taste. Wiping his mouth one more time, he began sprinting towards the temple.

'Princess Zelda will be okay. I 'll be okay. We can get through this.' He told himself.

He wasn't sure if he believed it.