Author's Note: Hi everyone! It's been ages since I've posted anything. Life has definitely placed writing at the end of my priorities list. However, I've been struck with the urge to dip my toe back into it. :)

This story is a one-shot told from the point of view of The Hero's Shade. Hyrule Historia indicates that the Shade is the ghost of the Hero of Time, though it is often theorized The Hero turned into a Stalfos. For the sake of this story, he is the spirit of the Hero.

I did take some liberties here, one of which being multiple timelines created due to the Hero resetting time over and over during the events of Majora's Mask. I know the theory is that the Goddess of Time protected all the actions Link had taken during this time, therefore the effects of everything he had done lasted through the resets and morphed into one timeline. However, I was inspired by a non-canon comic for another popular video game (Life Is Strange) in which the main character had the power to control and reverse time, and the comic explores the possibility of her creating various timelines and morphing in and out of those timelines, thus seeing the effects of what would happen if she had chosen differently. I wanted to play around with this mechanic in this one-shot, and attribute it to how this may affect the Hero and cause him to live with regrets. So please do not take this to be canon, as I am aware it is not.

This is also somewhat of a MaLink. This was never canonically confirmed (as far as I'm aware), but it's popularly theorized that OoT Link ended up with Malon. We do know he had descendants (hence Twilight Princess Link being his descendant), therefore he must have had a child with someone at one point. Malon is the most commonly theorized romantic partner due to the fact Twilight Princess Link grew up as a rancher and had a horse named Epona, as well as knowing Epona's Song.

At the end of the day, it goes without saying this is just fanfiction. I do not own any of the characters, nor do I work for Nintendo. So anything said in a work of fanfiction should not be taken too seriously or as canon. That shouldn't have to be said, but I know from my past stories some people tend to become very offended if you imply something other than what they believe.

With that, I hope you enjoy! To my followers that had requested a sequel of my most recent fanfic titled "The Cost of Heroism" (another MaLink fic), I did start working on a sequel awhile back but unfortunately never got around to finishing it. If those of you who follow me are still interested in that, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will definitely be happy to pick it back up.

Enjoy! :)

Blackness.

Every time I close my eyes, all the regrets of my past flash before my eyes. I can trace it all back to one specific instance.

Temple of Time; I can see her fluttering away. No words exchanged, just an abrupt parting without an explanation.

How could she leave me - absent words - after all we've been through together? She was supposed to be my partner.

"The Boy Without a Fairy", a moniker bestowed upon me by my peers. I always knew I was different from the others, and it hurt. Little did I know of my Hylian blood back then, but even still…all I ever wanted was to fit in. The only person I could call a friend back then was Saria.

Then there she was. I had been jolted awake from yet another recurring vivid nightmare. Her urgent high-pitched voice filled the air. "Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?" I remember being taken aback. Firstly, what was a fairy doing in my treehouse? Secondly, why was she so demanding?

She went on to explain the Great Deku Tree had appointed her my partner and had summoned me.

I had never been summoned by the Great Deku Tree before, so I was very intrigued. However, my excitement for finally being appointed a fairy partner was short-lived. I didn't understand the urgency in the matter at the time.

We faced many challenges together. Throughout the near-death experiences and her constant consoling whenever I was about to break down or lose it…I was proud to call her a friend.

I remember breaking down to her on more than one occasion. At one point I had told her I wished I could throw in the towel; I wished the Goddesses had chosen another. I was worn out, mourning my lost childhood, the friends I'd lost along the way…the weight of the world on the shoulders of a young adolescent child trapped in a young man's body. My emotions were all over the place.

And she always knew the right thing to say to lift me up. She let me know I was special, and that my friends, the Sages, the Princess and the people of Hyrule were depending on me. She said that the Goddesses chose me for a reason, and that my mother - with her last dying breath - made her way to the Sacred Forest and entrusted me to the Great Deku Tree for a predetermined reason…a reason far beyond the comprehension of mortals.

She made me feel special. She encouraged me.

And then just like that…she was gone.

Princess Zelda returned me to my original time, seven years before drawing the Sacred Blade of Evil's Bane from its pedestal in the Temple of Time. I remember looking down at my once-again childlike hands and feeling waves of intense emotions rush over me. The feelings of a young man seven years my senior and emotions a ten-year-old couldn't comprehend washed over me all at once.

I instinctively looked over to Navi for comfort, tears threatening to spill. But without any parting words or explanation, she just fluttered up and away.

I choked on a sob and fell to my knees, staring blankly up at the high window she'd exited out of.

She was gone, just like that.

I stared at that window for what felt like hours, hoping she would eventually flutter back in and rejoin me. At one point I even questioned if I'd imagined her existence, as if my mind created her as a coping mechanism to serve as my conscience and inner voice.

After what seemed like an eternity, I recalled that I still had a mission to fulfill. I needed to warn a young Princess Zelda of Ganondorf's evil plot so she could put a stop to it.

When I spoke to her and briefly mentioned Navi's sudden departure, she entrusted me with the Ocarina of Time. She knew what Navi meant to me.

I stopped by the ranch to say goodbye to my friend Malon, who allowed me to take Epona along.

I wandered the woods for days, exhaustion setting in. I hadn't gotten any decent sleep the entire time. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Navi leaving me…not to mention the intense emotions I was still battling. People often described me as a young boy whose eyes held wisdom and pain beyond his years...and they were right. My youthful appearance defied the things I'd witnessed and experienced throughout my lifetime.

My journey through the woods ultimately led up to Skull Kid attacking me, stealing my horse and cursing me, which resulted in another adventure. Reliving those same three days over and over took such a toll on me. I had just saved Hyrule and was still processing all the heavy emotions that came from that, and here I was…yet another nation's fate resting on my shoulders. It was too much.

Tatl was mostly a good partner, although we had initially gotten off on the wrong foot.

…But she wasn't Navi. I could not open up to her in the comfortable way I could with Navi.

If all of that wasn't bad enough, repeating the three day cycle made it feel as if everything I had done was in vain. I would spend the entirety of the three days helping people to the best of my ability, only to reset time and have all my actions erased. When I finally broke Majora's curse and befriended Skull Kid, it seemed the effects of everything I'd done had been applied somehow. Kafei's curse was broken, he and Anju were reunited, the ranch and Romani had been saved, all four temples and their respective regions had been cleansed…or so I thought.

I eventually returned to Hyrule and settled down on the ranch with Malon. I was slowly starting to find some semblance of peace, though it wasn't until I was about seventeen or so when I started phasing in and out of alternate realities. Apparently resetting time over and over created multiple timelines with various outcomes. There were timelines in which Romani Ranch ended up going out of business due to the abduction of their cows, there was a timeline in which the four regions of Termina were never cleansed, the curse on Pamela's father was never lifted, the Deku Princess was never reunited with her father (hence the monkey was never freed from his imprisonment), Lulu's eggs were never rescued, et cetera. Some of these timelines were darker than others, and many had resulted in tragedy and death. There were even timelines in which I was not successful in preventing the moon from falling.

Then there was the story of Anju and Kafei. I recall always admiring the love they had for one another. I looked up to them. I was only a young boy and didn't quite understand what deep affection was at the time, but I knew I wanted to help reunite them.

There were multiple timelines that stemmed from my quest of helping them, as it took me various attempts (and many three-day cycle resets) to get it right. There was an instance where I did everything right except help Kafei retrieve the Sun's Mask. For whatever reason, I was not able to prevent the moon from crashing. Kafei had miraculously survived (likely thanks to being trapped in Sakon's hideout). He returned to Clock Town, where Anju awaited him at the Stock Pot Inn. He found her mangled body buried in the wreckage. I somehow morphed into that timeline. Kafei took notice of me, shook his head and unloaded the story onto me, tears filling his garnet eyes. He was still a child, due to Skull Kid's curse never being lifted in that timeline.

"Where did you go?" he asked finally. "We were all depending on you, and you just vanished. Did you run away to save yourself?"

And I couldn't think of a good response; I didn't know the answer. I couldn't begin to imagine what he was feeling. I didn't ever want to picture finding Malon's lifeless form like that. I could see the haunting of it in his eyes; it scarred me.

There was another instance involving the couple in which Anju survived and Kafei didn't. I had done everything correctly except I had somehow failed to give Anju the Pendant of Memories, which caused her to take refuge at the ranch with her family. This time Anju was the one who returned to the wreckage to find Kafei's lifeless body amongst the rubble. When I morphed into this timeline, she'd burst into tears and started screaming at me, even coming after me as if to attack me. Her mother had to pull her away from me, where she fell to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably. I recall crying myself to sleep that night (and many nights after that).

All these various realities have weighed heavily on me for years. Poor Malon had felt the weight of it…my random bouts of anguish, my vast mood swings, my haunted expressions…

Malon had been a saint to me. She'd always been more than understanding and patient with me.

As if everything I was experiencing wasn't bad enough, no one in Hyrule remembered what I had done for them due to being sent back in time. Malon had heard the story time and time again; I knew she believed me, it's just a shame that I had to tell it to her rather than it being something that she could recall. I just felt like everything I've done for both Hyrule and Termina have been in vain.

Then one day a traveling merchant stopped by the ranch to purchase some milk. He spoke of a traveling shaman who was renowned for helping alleviate people's past regrets and help them face their inner demons. This shaman was supposedly planning to attend the Carnival of Time in Clock Town. Normally I would never believe in such things, but I'd been so worn down over the years I was willing to try anything at that point.

Even though she was heavily with child at the time, Malon whispered to me, "You have demons you need to face. Go to Termina and meet with this shaman."

"But you could go into labor any day now…" I had commented, resting my hand on her pregnant belly. She gave a soft smile and lifted her fingers to move a blond strand of hair from my face, her hand caressing my cheek affectionately.

"I've been seeing you suffer inwardly for many years now. You've done so much for people over the years, yet you've neglected to take care of yourself. I will not continue watching you waste away. You need to heal, especially before this baby makes its way into the world. He or she deserves a happy, content father. And you deserve to have inner peace and closure."

Back to square one. I had once again found myself wandering the woods for days. I could not find my way back to Termina. Epona had gotten spooked by something in the forest several days prior, and I had lost her. I'd been set upon by a pack of Wolfos, earning a nasty gash on my left eye. I became weakened over the next several days due to lack of nourishment and being unable to effectively treat my wounds.

I remember feeling tired, cold, and hungry. My legs had given out, and I had been curled up in a fetal position with my eyes closed.

Hence the blackness.

I knew my time was nigh. I knew I would never hold Malon again. I would not get to know my child. I would never get my answer as to why Navi left me so abruptly, never to return.

I would never achieve my inner peace.

Blackness…it's never been my friend, even in the afterlife.

I am suddenly torn from my thoughts due to the sound of rustling grass.

I open my eyes, and I see him. The resemblance is uncanny; my descendant who shares my namesake, clad in similar garb I once wore.

I never wished for my descendants to share the same fate I did. The weight of the world on a young boy's shoulders is not something I would wish on anyone.

But it is fated to be so. Navi was right. The Goddesses choose us for a reason, and as mortals we are not in a position to question their reasoning.

No, I cannot remove this burden from him as it is predestined by the will of the Goddesses. But I can pass the lessons of my life onto him. People will remember his name, and I shall play my part to guide him and sharpen his skills. I shall do all that I can to help alleviate his burdens.

That is my purpose now. People may not remember my deeds, but those lessons shall live on through him, the Hero of Twilight.

Although I accepted life as the hero, I could not convey the lessons of that life to those who came after. At last, I will have eased my regrets.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! :)

Regarding Anju and Kafei, for those of you who read my fic titled "The Promise of the Sun and Moon", I did borrow some ideas from that story. In that fic, I explored the possibilities of Link unintentionally botching up the multi-faceted Anju and Kafei side quest (because for those of you who played Majora's Mask, as you're aware there were tons of steps involved in completing this quest. I imagine if it were real life, it would be easy to screw up one or two things...i.e. forgetting to give Anju the Pendant of Memories would cause her to seek refuge at Romani Ranch, and not helping Kafei retrieve the Sun's Mask would cause him to lose it and become trapped in Sakon's lair). And for those of you familiar with Twilight Princess, you may reccognize the last sentence as slightly adapted quote from The Hero's Shade about easing his regrets through passing his life lessons onto his descendant.

Thanks again so much for reading! Please don't be a stranger, and remember to leave a review if you enjoyed it (I do have anonymous reviews enabled, so please feel free to pop your head in even if you're not a member of the site)!

I hope everyone has a great day, and please stay safe and healthy out there! :)

~Green Eyed Gerudo

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to The Legend of Zelda franchise or its characters. Any references to characters are the property of Nintendo.