Chapter 12
"Wisdom plenty…"
"For them I need to be the Hero of Time!" Link's words rang out among the mountaintop meadow. He was back in Nayru's Solace. The trial was over.
Exhausted, he fell onto his hands and knees. His entire body suddenly felt twice as heavy, and his head swam with the lingering images of what he'd witnessed. Panting, Link glanced up at the Goddess' statue; the orb was glowing brightly.
"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," Nayru exclaimed. As always, her voice sent dozens of emotions rocketing through Link's body, this time washing away some of the despair brought on by the trial.
"I—I passed?" Link asked slowly, barely trusting himself to speak.
"TRUE WISDOM IS NOT CONTINGENT ON PAST EXPERIENCE, BUT RATHER ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FUTURE," the Goddess replied. "BY ACCEPTING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE HERO OF TIME YOU HAVE SHOWN TRUE WISDOM. WISDOM ENOUGH TO SAVE HYRULE."
Leaning back, Link brought his hands up and studied them thoughtfully. They seemed like somebody else's hands now. They were still his own, but it was as if he had changed into a new person. The painful images that he'd seen had awakened in him yet another reason for completing the Goddess' trials. Without the Hero of Time, even more people would fall victim to Ganon's inhuman cruelty. This was bigger than just him.
Somewhere deep within him though, Link realized that he had not, and would not ever forget about Malon. He was, first and foremost, fighting to save his family, to save Malon.
"YOU HAVE PASSED MY TEST," Nayru repeated.
Just as in Din's Sanctuary, the air around the blue orb began spinning rapidly, condensing toward the statue before suddenly exploding outward in a blinding white light and a fierce gust of wind that knocked Link onto his back.
As the tumult died out, Link was left with a deep sense of peace. A feeling only augmented by the setting sun behind him. How long have I been up here? Link asked himself curiously.
Wearily, Link hoisted himself to his feet and begun the long trek back down the mountain.
Destiny was waiting.