Shadow's Echo
II
The Forsaken Realm
Author's note: Hope you guys enjoy.
xXx
Link woke up with a jolt. His vision was foggy and blurred. All he knew was that it was dark, and there was an incredible stench in the air. As he came to, his sight started to clear only to reveal blinking blue lights in the far distance. The rest of it was black, with the smallest hint of a path in his vision, leading to the Sols.
The stench seemed to grow stronger, and Link started to hear whispers in the air- not unlike the whispers he heard in the Twilight Realm, when souls of those affected by the Twilight lingered in fear. They were soft, almost musical- like a lullaby, but Link felt the malice and evil in the voice, just about permeating the air.
He wondered where he was; the Twilight Realm didn't feel this dangerous and hostile.
There was only one conclusion; something had gone wrong with the transportation. With Midna's residual magic forcibly activating the incomplete and broken Mirror, the teleportation was incomplete and faulty, stranding Link in wherever he was.
And at this point, only the Goddesses knew where he was.
Worse, Link had already returned the Master Sword, which would have kept the evil at bay as he tried to find his way back to safety. Without it, the Hero was vulnerable to whatever evils the place threw at him.
Not to mention Zant's curse, and the undoubted influence from the Mirror of Twilight that was undoubtedly taking its toll on Link. He could already feel it - a snaking, creeping sensation in his mind that he could not quite explain, as if it was muddying his thoughts and dulling his senses.
Link however, stayed optimistic, looking at the unmistakeable blue lights in the distance - Sols. For all intents and purposes, he was in the Twilight Realm nonetheless. He just had to follow the blue light of the magical spheres which lit up the dark realm. It was quiet all around, but he could hear it- the soft musical trill from the Sols.
Standing up, he tiredly walked towards it, letting himself be led towards the light of the Sols.
He could finally see Midna. The Twilight Princess who had haunted his dreams. The woman whom he bloodied his hands for.. the friend whom he defied the Goddesses for.
He would usually feel positive or happy for this turn of events. Sure, he had to navigate through a dangerous path, but he was no stranger to them anyway.
However, all Link felt, was a hollow guilt.
After all, he had re-opened the portal, but to a much more dangerous world, with powers the Triforce within him can barely resist. The Twilight incident had nearly destroyed Hyrule, and he was putting it in danger again by opening the portal to this evil realm.
Yes, he knew he would meet Midna again, but at what cost? Zelda? Colin? Even Rusl? They didn't deserve a terrible fate for his sins - they had fought enough already.
"Indeed, Hero, they do not deserve that." A firm voice sounded, laced with power that reverberated throughout his mind.
Link stopped in shock, as the voice continued.
"Why have you defied us? Now you may have doomed Hyrule once and for all." Another voice, higher in tone, but full of disapproval.
The Hero fell back on his backside, his heart clenching in fear. The Triforce on his hand was burning, resonating with the presence in his mind. It wasn't long before he realized exactly who he was speaking to.
"You are correct. We are the Goddesses of Hyrule. And we ask you, Hero, why have you defied us?"
Link was too shellshocked to answer, as the Goddesses grew short in patience. He screamed as a deep pain took over his head. It felt like it was being torn apart piece by piece. He kept on screaming until his voice was hoarse, until he started begging the Goddesses to stop... to show him mercy…
Then, after what seemed like forever, the pain faded, and Link could only gasp out relief.
"I apologize for our impatience, Hero, but we do not have time to wait for your answer. A great evil has been exposed upon Hyrule, and you are its cause. We must know if you had meant harm to Hyrule."
"For that girl, you would sacrifice everything." A newer voice. It was lower and hoarser than the both of them, and tinged with amusement.
Link at this point, was too fatigued to answer. Not that the Goddesses would care. They would probably rip through his memories again to get what they wanted.
"It appears that you did not mean any harm to Hyrule. Yet we cannot ignore your transgression. Do you know where you are, child of Courage?"
"The… Twilight Realm," Link managed, barely managing to find his voice.
"Close enough, but false. You are in the Forsaken Realm- the Realm where we dispose of curses, and monsters which once plagued Hyrule. Powerful, and dark things are sealed here."
"And you have opened a gate to Hyrule. Now evil reigns free, enough to re-awaken the corrupted Triforce of Power. Do you know what this means, Hero?"
"Ganondorf," Link breathed.
"Or something worse," One of the Goddesses noted. "A corrupted Triforce of Power fed with the consciousness and magic of the Forsaken Realm needs no host."
Link swallowed, a bead of sweat running down his brow. He knew his actions would have severe consequences, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect this.
"This is your first penance, Hero. You will stop this from happening, lest a plague be released across pure Hyrule." The Goddesses boomed, before one of them added gently. "I understand of your love for your Twili friend, but we have our reasons for our actions. It is not too late."
"However, you will not survive as you are right now. Already the realm has taken a toll on you. Thus.." The Goddess' voice was ominous and took a dark tone.
Black. Burn. Fire. That was all Link could think as he felt the heat from the Triforce spread across his body and the strange feeling in his mind become overwhelming. His already hoarse voice grew silent, reduced into a scratchy whimper as he started to feel the familiar feeling of transformation- except it was much more painful than before.
He felt magic seep into him as he transformed, making the process much more painful. Link saw his feet grow more distant as he looked down, as it grew larger, and grew some grey wolf fur, but stopping there- it was a sign that something was wrong. He felt water running down his side, looking in horror as he saw his enlarged, grotesque body- his left hand halfway between a paw and a human hand, while his right arm was simply human, but with the black skin of a wolf, and blood running down it.
He looked down, and his legs were nothing more than deformed things, some wolf legs, and some human legs- he could barely stand upright as he continued to blanch in horror, not daring to imagine what his face looked like.
"This is your curse, Hero. To survive in a realm of beasts, one must take the form of a beast. Only the Twilight Princess can reverse your curse, and save you now."
"W-Why?" Link said, and he noticed how his voice had taken a guttural tone, like a wolf's growl.
"You had asked for this."
"Follow the blue light of the Sols. Do not stray from your path.. do not trust the voices."
"Make haste. Time flows differently in the Forsaken Realm than they do in the Realm of Hyrule, and we are short of it. Now go, Beast. Do not worry; we are watching over you."
"And be careful, Divine Beast. Foul things lurk in the Forsaken Realm, and you have naught but your own claws." The presence faded, and Link was finally alone. Releasing a breath that he didn't notice he was holding, Link exhaled deeply.
"Beast, huh," Link half-heartedly attempted a wry, sarcastic smile, noting the change of epithet. "Very reassuring."
With that in mind, Link lumbered forward, stumbling over his legs a few times, but stabilized enough to gallop onward as he did when he was a wolf. The whispers grew quieter, but stronger at the same time - his sensitive ears picked up on the musical lilt on them, and a familiar high-pitched tone that he knew very well.
But not the cheeky emotion in it, the gentleness - and that was how he continued onward. It wasn't her. He had sacrificed too much to stop now, and he had one destination in mind- Midna.
It was just a matter of time- at least he hoped, as the Triforce within his hand started to resonate again in his hand, except that the Goddesses' energy wasn't there anymore.
And if he had looked back, he would have noticed the blackness behind him growing darker.
xXx
Hyrule Castle
"Oh, Link, what have you done?" Zelda held a hand to her face, as she dismissed the young Colin.
Her normally silky, long straight brown hair was messier than usual, and her palms were pale from tightly gripping the wallet that Colin had given her. Her heart-shaped, gentle face, agreed by many of the townsfolk to be breathtakingly beautiful was contorted in worry and a slight bit of frustration.
Rolling a familiar crystallized tear on her fingers, the Queen felt a groan coming, as she analyzed the new list of headaches that Colin had brought up to her.
Zelda knew Link was distraught over Midna's departure - the face of utter shock as the Mirror shattered was something she'd never forget - but never did she expect this. Link had somehow reconstructed the Mirror on his own, and with meagre residual magic, managed to re-awaken the powerful portal.
It was unheard of. Even the strongest mages would struggle to recreate the Mirror, let alone activate it that way.
"Link must have truly wanted to go there." Zelda mused, as the Triforce of Wisdom hummed, as if in agreement. "So much that he directly went against the Goddesses."
That said however, she lamented that he did not trust his friends enough to talk to them about it. The Queen herself would have disapproved at his plans, yes, but she would have understood. Yet, why would he? She would only stop him, and she knew it. What he did put her kingdom in danger- again.
Taking a last look at his big wallet of rupees, Zelda sighed- but not before spotting something strange.
Something was glowing in the wallet, and the young Queen quickly snatched the object out. She bit her lip, recognizing the obsidian stone that held Link's curse, and it was shining red.
Then, Zelda heard a voice cursing - no, a mixture of voices. They were all speaking in unison, and it was the most interesting combination… However, it was also very familiar. She didn't recognize the deep, guttural voice, but she certainly knew the other. The other voice was richer, and deep, with a familiar Ordonian accent that she identified immediately.
"Link?" She muttered.
"Zelda? No, just another voice... does this place never stop?" His voice was rough, and he sounded exhausted.
"Link? It's Zelda!" She called, hoping it'd reach him.
"No! You're just another voice, aren't you?" Link's voice was strained.
Zelda patiently replied. "I'm not, Link. We rode on horseback to fight Ganondorf together. I healed your hands after you tore it up collecting the Mirror shards. I'm Zelda, Link."
"Ah…" Link trailed off a little, his voice filled with so much relief it worried the Queen even more.
"Where are you?" Zelda intoned calmly, which seemed to relax Link's breathing a little, which was so heavy she could hear it from her end.
That said, she remained nervous. Zelda heard the heavy breathing, the multiple voices, and the growls that usually followed. It was more animalistic than human, and she feared for Link. She wondered if the curse had returned.
"The Goddesses say I'm in the Forsaken Realm.." Link told. "How can you talk to me?"
"I don't know, Link; I just heard your voice from the stone in your pouch," Zelda said, before she sighed. "Why didn't you come to me? We could have found another way. And now look what happened. You've put us all in danger."
"There was none, and you know that," Link answered defiantly, though there was a trace of guilt. "I'm sorry."
"Indeed, Link. What you did gave me more headaches than I would prefer, especially after Ganondorf," Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose. ".. Link?"
The link had grown silent. It was too abrupt to be an accident, and Zelda could only hope that Link was safe. At any rate, she had to make a trip to the Great Hyrule Archives, and Ordon Village, where the reforged Mirror lay open.
The Queen had remembered talk about the Forsaken Realm from one of her tutors when she was younger- and nothing that she recalled about it was good.
Link had also dropped another detail; the Goddesses had made contact with him. It made her even more uneasy. For a problem to be as severe as to warrant a direct intervention from the Goddesses, it was a critical situation.
Before she left though, Zelda noticed the stone was still shining red. On a hunch, she held it to her lips.
"Stay safe, Link, and return quickly," Zelda softly told.
It was a while before she got an answer- an animalistic growl. Zelda recognized the tone of agreement within; it was the same growl Link used when he first met her as a beast- a wolf. That said, this was a different growl, more menacing and more human and it chilled her to the bone. Nonetheless, she knew it to be Link.
"Good."
Pocketing the stone, Zelda finished her paperwork for the day, and left for the archives. It was going to be a very, very long week.
With that in mind, the normally reserved Queen finally allowed herself a deep groan of frustration.
xXx
Seems a bit of filler, I know, but do bear with me; this chapter was necessary to set the stage for spicier scenes & chapters. And I know our favourite imp hasn't made an appearance yet, but she will soon. Exciting times ahead!
Reviews are appreciated, and deeply listened to.
