The aura surrounding Link grew even brighter than before, enveloping the entire room in a powerful white glow that was too bright to look at. Link's body began to dematerialize exactly the way it did when he used the sheikah slate to teleport around Hyrule. The excited hero closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The last thing he saw before being whisked away to the past was the Eye of the Sheikah engraving on the shrine's sealed door.
Moments after Link's disappearance, the aura faded, and the chamber sat in dark, empty silence for what would be the rest of eternity.
As soon as Link's vision returned to him, which was only after a few seconds in his perception, he stopped for a moment to take in his surroundings. He was standing outside during a sunny evening, and by the looks of it, he was nowhere near Hyrule castle anymore. In fact, he recognized his location as the giant stone arch at the base of Mt. Lanayru. This was where he had stood with Zelda and all the other Champions the time Calamity Ganon was just beginning to break free. Funnily enough, that event had also taken place in the evening.
Out of curiosity, he took out the sheikah slate and examined the display. Sure enough, in the top corner of the image, a small timer counted down from sixty minutes. According to the shrine monk, when that timer reached zero, Link would be immediately returned to his own time, which, in this case, was 100 years in the future. It was in his best interest not to waste any time.
He took a step, but right at that moment, a mighty and terrifying roar shook the very ground beneath his feet. Confused, Link searched frantically for the source of the sound, and he gasped in utter disbelief when his gaze fell on the sky above him.
A dark, wretched cloud of pulsating Malice expanded outwards from the northwest, which was the direction of Hyrule castle in relation to Mt. Lanayru. Powerful bolts of purplish lightning struck repeatedly from the cloud as it expanded, undoubtedly striking fear into those who witnessed its thunderous clap. More roars emanated from the direction of the castle, causing trees to shake and rocks to roll off nearby cliffs. Link stood steadfastly in place with his legs spread for balance, grimacing at the booming noises of Calamity Ganon's awakening.
This was impossible! The monk had stated that the shrine would return Link to a time period before the Calamity's release into Hyrule! How could Ganon already be free? Whatever had gone wrong, the shrine had instead sent Link to the period just after the separation of the Champions at the base of the mountain where he now stood. As a result, he now stood trapped with few options under the stone arch of Mt. Lanayru's base while Ganon actively proceeded to stretch his looming jaws over the defenseless kingdom of Hyrule. At this exact moment, Hyrule was not yet aware of the fact that they were defenseless, which would make it that much worse when the guardians turn against them in the next several minutes and start laying waste to everything the ancient sheikah had worked to protect.
Link pulled out the sheikah slate and prepared to warp to another location. His past self from the current time period should also be here, he figured. If he could recall, that other self should've been with the past version of Zelda in the castle town as they both prepared to execute the plan and take on the Calamity. Link knew, however, given his advanced knowledge, that both his past self and the past version of Zelda would be running for their lives in a mad dash in just a few fateful minutes. Perhaps he would be able to help them fight the guardians.
Upon getting no response from the sheikah slate when trying to warp, Link suddenly realized something, an exasperated look appearing on his face. He was currently 100 years in the past, which was before any of the shrines had been activated. Therefore, he had no travel gates to utilize as long as he was here. His options were suddenly cut down even further. The cloud in the sky above continued to grow outward, blocking out the sun and shrouding more land in darkness and chaos.
Panic began to grip his body as he tried figuring out what to do. He was reliving the horrible events of the Great Calamity a second time in person, and even with knowledge of the future, he was still helpless. Link had never felt the sensation of true panic before in his life, surely because his superior instinct and fearless composure always gave him the options to vanquish every adversary. However, in his current situation, he was stuck with almost no viable choices of action while the nightmare of 100 years ago played out all over again as the present.
Without his warp ability, he wouldn't be able to make it to Hyrule castle in time to save any lives. He wouldn't be able to make it to Gerudo Desert to warn Champion Urbosa. There was no way he'd make it to Rito Village to warn Champion Revali. It was likely that Revali wouldn't have listened to him anyway. Also, he wouldn't be able to scale Death Mountain fast enough to warn Champion Daruk. However, he realized that…perhaps he'd have time to save Mipha. Zora's Domain was situated only just to the north of the Mt. Lanayru. It was a straight shot north, and if he sprinted fast enough, maybe he'd still have a chance.
Not wasting another second, Link took off running northward. The metal gear attached to his back clattered violently as he ran, signaling the intensity of his body movements. Glancing quickly down at himself, he noticed that he was still wearing the zora armor. The chestplate, in particular, had caught his eye. It was the symbol of his relationship with the zora Champion. The same zora Champion that, in a few minutes, would be boarding the Divine Beast at Zora's Domain and, likewise, meeting a fate with death.
Link was given this one chance, and he would rather get torn to shreds than let the opportunity slip up. The ancient sheikah had put such a deliberate effort into creating the Shrine of Recollection so that he could do this. Perhaps it was fate, he thought. Either way, he was not going to let it be for nothing.
Upon reaching Trotter's Downfall, however, Link found that his stamina was starting to get the better of him. At this rate, if he couldn't get a move on, his hope would soon start to fade. His face tensed up as he tried to fight back his swelling emotions. One chance…this was his chance…his one last chance to be with Mipha, even if it was only for a few moments. At least, he figured, if he could save her, she'd still be around for him to be with in 100 years, right? She'd be a bit older, but she'd still be the same beautiful zora princess he'd grown to love so dearly.
Suddenly, Link remembered the sheikah slate. He still had the Master Cycle Zero. The last thing he had done before confronting Calamity Ganon on his journey was complete the monks' final trials and help Kass, the Rito bard, complete the Champions' Ballad. His reward for accomplishing this task was the Master Cycle Zero, which could be summoned from the sheikah slate as a rune at any time.
Still running, but at a slower pace, Link pulled out the slate and set the rune. In a brief couple of seconds, the unusual-looking motorcycle appeared before him. In a swift motion, he sat down on it, gunned the motor, and accelerated away at a much faster speed than he had previously been moving. The air, now filling with eerie black particles from Ganon's Malice, blew past his face as he rode.
Once the hero reached the Samasa Plain, an opening appeared on the horizon for him to get a good look at Calamity Ganon over Hyrule castle. The beast, taking the form of a thick, purple swirl of dark essence, circled menacingly above the castle. Although Link couldn't see them from here, he was almost certain the guardians were beginning to show their ugly faces upon the helpless castle town. The massive pillars that were designed to appear around the castle upon Ganon's return had already risen from the ground, but as the awful story went, they were already painted purple with the monster's Malice. It was all a truly horrendous sight to behold, especially for being the second time. Despite it being 100 years since Link had witnessed it all the first time, his slumber in the Shrine of Resurrection made it feel like only a few weeks, once he had recovered his memory, that is.
Before hitting the Rutala River, Link made a forty-five-degree turn to the right and continued his hurried trek to the northeast on his way up to Ja'Abu Ridge. Once there, he would have a clear view of East Reservoir Lake, where Divine Beast Vah Ruta was sure to be sitting as it should've been during this time period. Then, hopefully, Link would be able to find and catch Mipha before she could unknowingly step foot to her own doom. Unlike him, with his fast motorcycle, Mipha had had to walk all the way to the Divine Beast on foot from the same location by the mountain. She may have had a head start, but Link was faster, and his chances were still not dead.
Another complication Link had to deal with was his lack of Champion abilities. In the past, where he currently resided, the Champions were still very much alive, though not for much longer. Therefore, he was not connected to their spirits the way he was in his own time. Without Revali's Gale, he had no faster way to ascend the cliffs leading to Ja'Abu Ridge than to push his Master Cycle to the limits.
Before long, despite it feeling like hours to the desperate hero, he had made it to the ridge. Just as he had sped his way around the side of the final cliff, the mighty and daunting figure of Vah Ruta came into view, waiting patiently in the water for its master to arrive and assume its control. What Link knew, however, was that WaterBlight Ganon was inside waiting as well, perched in the main control unit for the perfect time when Mipha would arrive to activate the machine. The hero was prepared to die before he would let that happen. He would not let her down again.
He hopped off the cycle, got a running start toward the cliff that descended into the East Reservoir, and jumped with all his might, deploying his glider at the top of his arc. The waters of the Reservoir, still as sparkly and clear as they would be in 100 years, rushed past beneath his feet as he sailed. The incredible size of the Divine Beast became increasingly apparent as he floated right past its massive trunk, mere inches away from its stone-like surface. From this vantage point, the destructive force of Calamity Ganon was perfectly visible to the hero as it roared another time. This time, Link thought he could see the distant figures of the newly-possessed guardians crawling all over the castle town. Large plumes of smoke rose into the sky from that region, adding to the already ominous mist that composed the monster hovering overhead.
He set his gaze back ahead of him and was amazed to see the bed at the base of the Reservoir's main dock, in seemingly identical condition to its counterpart 100 years in the future. Prince Sidon hadn't been joking when he said that the thing hadn't been disturbed during the entire century. Perhaps it had been dusted off and cleaned a few times, but what he saw before him now proved that it had lasted 100 years free of thieves and vandalizers.
He looked sharply to his right at the entrance to the Divine Beast and nearly faltered from his glider when he did so. There, on the edge of the dock taking the last few steps onto the Divine Beast, was Mipha, gripping her elegant Lightscale Trident in both hands. A look of determination seemed visible on her face, for in her mind, she was about to play a decisive role in the future of Hyrule. Ironically, she was right, but not in the way she was probably expecting. She was blissfully unaware that the steps she was taking would end up being her last, unless Link did something quick.
He let go of the glider with his left hand, causing him to turn sharply to the right, in the direction of Mipha and the Divine Beast. Using his freed hand, he grabbed the sheikah slate from his hip, aimed it at Mipha, and set the rune to stasis. The zora Champion was instantly frozen in time a mere two steps from Vah Ruta's waiting hatch, indicated by the yellow flash of light and the timed clicking now coming from the slate.
Link quickly returned the slate to his hip and returned his full grip to the paraglider, resetting his direction forward. He was now sailing directly for Mipha. The hero turned his head away and clamped his eyes shut as he braced for impact.
His altitude now level with Mipha's, Link's body made forceful contact with the zora while she was still frozen in time. Because of this, her body reacted to his like solid rock, and he crumpled to the ground in sharp pain from the impact. His paraglider fell in the water. The yellow halo surrounding Mipha's body turned slightly more orange as Link's sideways momentum was transferred to her in her stasis.
Knowing what was about to happen, Link quickly stood up from his landing spot on the dock, ran around to Mipha's other side, and jumped in the water. He positioned himself in what he estimated to be the perfect spot, and he waited for the last few seconds of the slate's stasis to pass.
Suddenly, when the effect disappeared, the momentum stored in Mipha's body from Link's impact with the glider was instantly applied. With a shocked cry, the entirety of her small, lightweight figure was thrown violently to the side and off the edge of the dock, where Link was waiting eagerly to catch her in the water. For a few incomprehensible seconds, the only noises she was able to make were confused murmurs.
Feeling the sensation of being held in a pair of arms, Mipha turned around to face her alleged assailant. Her jaw fell slack as she gasped. "Oh, L…Link? What are you doing here? Sh…Shouldn't you be…"
Link gently put a finger over her mouth, silencing her mid-sentence. In a quiet voice, he spoke his first words in well over a century. "Do not get on that Beast."
A million questions began surging through the flustered zora princess's mind as she released herself from Link's arms and oriented herself upright in the water. She looked around for her trident, which had fallen out of her grip when she was thrown sideways. She found it resting on the dock behind her, but she elected to leave it there for now until she could get some answers from her lover. She turned back to face Link, who was looking deeply into her eyes, and noticed that he was wearing the zora chestplate she had made him, along with an added helm and leggings. A strong, fiery blush appeared on her face.
"M…My armor? Link, how…how did you get that? I…I never had the chance to…"
Again, she was stopped mid-sentence as Link treaded water towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at his face, and they stared at each other for a long time. Link smiled.
"Mipha…I'm from the future. There are some things I think you should know."
Mipha began to look impatient. Seeing her precious Link wearing the armor she had made him set her heart ablaze, but at the moment, there were other important things on her mind. "Link, I don't think now's the time! You're supposed to be at the castle town with Zelda preparing to take down Ganon! This is important!"
Link shook his head to disagree with her statement. His response to her was a stolen line from the sheikah monk who spoke to him before sending him to the memory realm at each of the Divine Beasts. "The truth is much deeper than you know."
The zora Champion looked at Link with confusion and skepticism in her eyes. Right at that moment, however, Vah Ruta let out a mighty, trumpeting roar from its trunk. Mipha turned around to look at the Beast and was shocked when she saw its glowing blue highlights turn to a vile shade of pinkish-purple. A cloud of Malice boiled up around it in a fashion similar to the cloud that surrounded Hyrule castle. Mipha gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
"Vah Ruta…no…!" She uttered quietly, feeling betrayed. A solemn look appeared on Link's face.
Vah Ruta lifted one of its gargantuan legs and began stomping its ferocious body all around the East Reservoir. Mipha, too shocked to react, continued staring in awe and disbelief. Link, however, reacted immediately to the thrashing waves caused by the rampaging machine by grabbing Mipha's hand from behind and quickly pulling her to the safety of the dock. She continued to stare at the captivating, raw power being expressed by the Divine Beast that had betrayed its master.
"Link…" She stammered, sounding scared. "…What's going on? Why are you here? Is Zelda going to be alright?"
Link let out a sigh as he began to explain everything to his nearly-forgotten lover. He explained the events of the Calamity in full detail, including the turning of the guardians. He explained his own defeat in the battle to protect Zelda in the field near Kakariko Village. He explained the Shrine of Resurrection, as well as the entirety of his subsequent journey 100 years in the future to restore peace and finally bring down the Calamity. He explained his discussions with her brother, Prince Sidon, and how he was eventually able to recover his memory of them together. And lastly, he explained his discovery of the Shrine of Recollection and how it brought him back to this time period to save her life. She struggled to absorb all the information so quickly.
Link noticed tears beginning to form in her eyes. "So…the other Champions…?"
Link shook his head sadly. He admitted to her that the Shrine had only given him one hour in the past, and that without his travel gates, he didn't have time to save everyone the way he had saved her. The other three Champions were undoubtedly fighting for their lives against their Calamitous intruders within their respective Divine Beasts right at this very moment, but both Link and Mipha knew now that the warriors' efforts would ultimately fail. It was only a matter of time.
Mipha walked weakly over to Link, pressed her face against his neck, and wept quietly. Link put his arms around the distraught zora princess and held her tightly. He was at least able to assure her that Zelda would turn out alive and well, despite having to remain locked away with Ganon for the rest of the century. He felt glad to be able to also tell her of Purah, Robbie, and Impa's well-being as well. The ongoing Calamity would cause a lot of painful scars in the next 100 years, but everything was still destined to turn out well in the end when his counterpart awakens from the Shrine of Resurrection and rights Hyrule's wrongs.
It felt so good for Link to finally be able to be with his beloved zora. Knowing of her death while in the future and hearing about his sacred bonds with her from her brother was just too painful for him. To be standing here with her, comforting her in times of sadness, on the dock of the East Reservoir…he just felt all that pain wash away. He never wanted this moment to end. In this moment, nothing else seemed to matter.
The sheikah slate, however, had other plans. The close and enchanting moment the two of them were sharing was abruptly interrupted when the slate on Link's hip began to beep. Link, a growing anxiety in his chest, let go of Mipha and held the slate up from his hip so he could read the display. When he observed that the clock was counting down from twenty seconds, he began to lose his composure. Mipha looked at him with worry.
"Are you about to be sent away?" She asked.
Link nodded quickly, his breathing picking up slightly, his gaze locked on the impending timer. The hand holding the sheikah slate began to quiver. Mipha reached forward and, putting both her hands on Link's cheeks, directed his gaze into her own eyes. "Link, it's okay. I'll be fine now that you saved me from Vah Ruta. I can continue being with Sidon and my people for the next 100 years, and then we can be together again when you return to the future!" She told him with an assuring smile on her lips. The wet streaks from her tears were still visible on her face.
Link shook his head. "No, I can't leave you alone again!" He cried.
He tore himself from Mipha's grasp and threw the sheikah slate on the ground. Then, after whipping the Master Sword out from its scabbard, he swung it around to a downward-facing position and drove it into the ground, puncturing the slate through its very center and effectively destroying it. Mipha let out a tiny squeak in utter shock as she witnessed her lover's sudden violent action. Pieces of the sheikah slate's internal gadgetry flew from the point of impact and landed in the water, producing tiny sparks in the process. The remains of the slate began to produce little weak sparks of stray electricity.
Mipha stood frozen in place, staring at the ground where Link had sent his sword through the dock's stone surface to completely obliterate the 10,000-year-old piece of technology. The Hylian's strength was surely not to be doubted.
"Link, is…is this really what you want? Wh…What about your friends in the future?" Mipha stammered, turning her gaze back up to Link's eyes. She watched him tear the sword back out of the dock's surface in a swift, powerful motion and return it to the scabbard on his back. He looked directly at her…and nodded once.
To be honest, the only friend Link would really be losing in his own time was Zelda. Everyone else was still alive 100 years ago, which is where he was now trapped. Sure, he had made some more minor friends along his journey, but he was sure few of them would even remember his existence in the long run. In the end, Link's only regret for destroying the sheikah slate minutes ago and sealing his existence in the past was abandoning Zelda. Thoughts of his prior loyalty to her and her services for Hyrule entered his mind, and he slowly began to feel a bit guilty.
On the flipside, leaving Mipha alone to dream about him for 100 long years didn't seem right either, especially since she had given up so much more for him during their relationship in this time period. Despite his many days spent with Zelda around all of Hyrule, Link just felt a much more immediate and powerful connection to Mipha from the moment they first spent time together. Plus, Link was never able to tell as clearly if Zelda really had feelings for him anyway. He had shared every bit of himself with Mipha over the years she was alive, and she had as well for him. Now she was standing right before him, still alive and well, thanks to his valiant efforts. Perhaps his tradeoff had not been that bad.
Mipha walked timidly up to Link and rested her palm against his chest, feeling the carefully-stitched hydrophobic fibers of the zora chestplate she had made for him stretched over his skin. They shared a few moments of silence where only the company of their lover mattered in their mind. They entirely ignored the thunderous howls of Calamity Ganon from Hyrule castle and the roaring waves from Vah Ruta lapping at their feet. Link noticed himself beginning to smile again.
Mipha, her hand still on Link's chest, looked toward the ground. "Link…you said my father gave you this armor, saying it was from me?"
Link nodded once more, his grin growing wider.
A strong blush appeared across Mipha's cheeks. "Do…do you…do you like it?"
Link extended his arms around her and pulled her close. Mipha responded to his gesture by putting her arms around him as well, her head nestled against his shoulder. They stood silently for many moments, lost in each other's embrace. Mipha let out a long, content sigh, her breath being felt on Link's collarbone. Link whispered, "…I love it."
Without another word, Mipha brought her face up to Link's, and they shared a deep, lasting kiss. They both closed their eyes, allowing the apocalyptic events happening around them to melt away into obscurity while they shared each other's lips. Mipha locked her hands around the back of Link's neck as he hoisted her off the ground, carrying her rather light body up the dock and toward their favorite bed under the awning. Both her Lightscale Trident and the smashed remains of the sheikah slate lay forgotten on the dock's cold surface.
Author's Note: Well, that would be the official ending. If you'd like to stop here, it wouldn't hurt the story in any way. There is an epilogue, though, and if you've made it this far, I assume you're going to want to read it! It's cute, I promise.