Sheik stared at Impa's arms as she bandaged them.
"If you would at least let me use a red potion on you," said Sheik, reaching for her arms.
Impa moved away from him. "It won't help," she said with a pained smile. "I am falling apart, and so must be all the other sages. It hurts a bit, but I'll be fine. At least until I reach the castle."
"If you go, then we both should go with you."
"No. You can't expose yourself like this Sheik," said Impa. "The hero was right. You have to stay hidden until we know more about what is happening. My memories are coming back in bits and pieces, but I know that whatever was done to me happened before you were captured."
"I'm sick of everyone trying to protect me. I can protect myself. I won't trust princess Zelda again," he said.
Impa patted him in the head with her bandaged hands. Sheik could feel an unnerving cold emanating from her.
"Don't say that. I don't know what happened, but if the princess did what she did, then…I don't doubt her intentions," said Impa. "You more than anyone should know that we often must do things we despise, for the greater good."
Sheik pursed his lips. "I can't see the greater good in erasing me from existence. In vanishing me even from your memories and your heart."
"It is impossible to erase you from my heart dear. That was the only reason why I could break through Zelda's spell. There is no timeline that can destroy a mother's love," said Impa, and leaned down to press a kiss to Sheik's forehead.
Sheik felt himself blushing, and looked at the Deity to see if he was looking, but Oni still sat on the windowsill at the back of the room, looking outside and uncaring about anything at all.
"Link knows of a fairy fountain that could heal you," said Sheik.
"There is nothing the fairies can do for me now. They can only heal wounds of the flesh. And I am not made of blood and flesh anymore," said Impa.
"What?"
Impa looked at him with a sad longing. "Dearest Sheik…I am dead already. I died that day at the shadow temple."
Sheik felt his blood run cold. "N-No…That's impossible…You're here! I can see you. I'm talking to you right now!" he cried, reaching out to hug her.
"I know. I can still cast a solid form, and interact with the world. But I gave my body and my life to the shadows. Just like Saria gave hers to the forest, and Ruto to the water. We all died, because no mortal being can become a sage. I'm sorry that we never told you. I'm sorry…that you had to find out like this…"
Sheik's vision blurred, and he realized he was crying. "No…no…If I'd been there…If I'd gone with you…," he said.
"If you had gone with me, you would have had to see me die, and I would have hated to have you suffer like that," said Impa, caressing his hair. "Or maybe you would have saved me, but then there would have been no Shadow sage, and Ganondorf would have never been vanquished to the dark realm. This was the correct path for me. It is a painful one, but it is the best I could have taken."
She stepped away from him, her form darkening, merging with the shadows as they came alive.
"Mom!" cried Sheik, trying to reach for her.
"Stay here Sheik. Everything will be alright," said Impa, turning completely black, and disappearing into the shadows.
"No! Stop! Come back!" yelled Sheik, but she was gone.
Link kicked the door open. "What happened?" he asked, looking around.
"Impa is gone. And she's dead!" said Sheik, falling to the floor.
"Oh…You…didn't know she was dead already?" asked Link.
Sheik glared up at him and Dark elbowed him in the ribs.
"Hey man, don't say that," said Dark.
"I mean!" said Link, kneeling beside Sheik and hugging him. "I-I'm sorry! Did she leave on her own? Through the shadow realm?"
"Sometimes you can be so heartless," said Sheik, unmoving in Link's arms.
Sometimes you can be so heartless, and I don't know if that's you, or if the war made you like this.
If all our pressure made you like this.
"I'm so sorry Sheik. I'm trying, but Zelda is about to come get you, and we need to get out of here," said Link.
Sheik nodded. "No, you're right. Sorry, I…I lost a hold of myself there," he said, wiping his face and pushing his hair away from his face. "I'll get ready and we can leave in a couple minutes"
Oni Link stood up from the window sill. "The princess isn't coming," he said, not taking his eyes away from the sky outside.
"What? But she said she knew that Sheik is in Kakariko," said Link.
"The seal is starting to open. This isn't the natural course of it disintegrating on its own. Something is tearing it from the other side. I can't see it myself, but it has to be Ganondorf. There is no other explanation. She must have figured out just as much, and she's stronger near the temple of Light. It would be foolish to engage him anywhere other than the temple," said Oni, walking outside.
"Seriously? He's just kicking the door open?" asked Dark, running after the deity and leaving Sheik and Link alone.
"What did the princess say Link?" asked Sheik.
Link gritted his teeth. "Nothing useful," he muttered.
"Link, come on!" yelled Sheik, shaking him.
Link pushed him away. "It has to be you," he said in a low voice, standing up. "You have to be the shield. Either you or Zelda, but only Zelda can cast it with the power of her Triforce, which she can't if she's going to be the shield."
"So it was true," said Sheik, standing up and putting his mask back on. "She did this because she had no other option."
"There must be other options. I can hold back Ganondorf, we can create another shield with both of our triforces, we can-"
"But she must have already thought of that," said Sheik, hiding his hair underneath his mask and resheating his knives. He looked around, trying to think of anything he had owned that he would have liked to be buried with, but he couldn't think of anything.
"No she hasn't!"
"Link, the princess has the triforce of wisdom for a reason. I wanted to believe otherwise, but if this is the only way…I will have to sacrifice myself."
"No, Sheik, that's crazy!" said Link, holding Sheik against his chest. "I don't want you to disappear again. I don't want to lose you again."
Sheik let his head fall against Link's chest. He wondered how living in peace with him would have been. Would he have grown to be taller than him? Would he have accompanied him in his travels? Would he have fallen in love with him, and returned Link's feelings?
Sheik hugged him back. He didn't know anything about matters of the heart, but he knew that it felt good to stay there. To feel the warmth of him and he yearned to grow old along with him. And maybe that was love.
"Link, stop talking like a little kid," said Sheik, unwilling to let go of him.
"I've never known how to be a kid," said Link, hugging him harder. "And I had to do it twice. Messed it up both times. And now I'm failing as a hero too."
"Link…"
"I can't let you do this to yourself Sheik. I am the hero. I have to save you."
A green light flooded the house, enveloping them in the scent of the forest. Link pulled Sheik behind him and took out his shield just as Saria appeared at the center of the room. She looked so tiny next to them, and yet Sheik could feel her power radiating from her.
"Saria don't," said Link. "Don't do this."
"There is very little time Link," she said reaching a hand to him. "But I will give it all to you. Come with me to the forest temple. You are not safe here. The darkness will start falling very soon, and the Triforce of Courage is stronger in the temple of the forest. I can allow you to communicate with Zelda there, but she won't be able to reach you."
Her voice had the same immaterial, echoing quality to it as Impa's voice had, and Sheik's mind wondered for a moment exactly how she had died. Had all the sages surrendered their lives willingly? Had they died and their spirits been consumed by the temples?
Had they been afraid?
"See? There is still time!" said Link, smiling at Sheik.
In truth, Sheik didn't want to die. Worse, he didn't want to be removed from existence, trapped between life and death forever.
"Fine," said Sheik, then turned to Saria. "But if things get too dangerous, please take me right to Zelda. Promise me you will, even if Link doesn't want to. Even if I don't want to."
Saria nodded.