Day One:

And so ends my first day on this strange, forsaken island. I think I have managed to calm down, regain my bearings a bit. Seclusion has that sort of effect I guess.

Now if only I could just do something about this heart of mine.

So far, my diet consists entirely of coconuts and crabs. It really isn't that bad, but I'm hoping to find something a bit more substantial. Like steak perhaps. I can hear the sounds of much larger and tastier animals to hunt, deep inside the vast forest here on this island. But alongside those are the vicious-sounding snarls of unknown monsters.

Ordinarily I would just charge straight in without a second thought. Hunger does that to me. But obviously, I currently have no weapons, no armor, no gear at all. So even I am aware that it would be idiotic to hunt inside there in my current state. I am not suicidal after all.

Wild and reckless… yeah. But not suicidal.

So I dare not venture inside, not without proper equipment-

Or at least not without a pair of pants.

The last thing I want to do is go blindly running through the brush with my lower extremities exposed. There are many areas on my body that I can handle damaging. My private parts are not on that list.

Right, so I have never been one to really care much for recording my inner thoughts or anything like that. I am remarkably boring. But it seems appropriate right now, for the unlikely event that I end up meeting my demise here. Perhaps someone will find some amusement in the hilarious events leading up to my death. I know I certainly would.

That said, here is the situation:

This dinky little note-taking rune is basically the only feature enabled on the slate. I have no access to my bombs, or cryonis, or any other applications. I am not sure why this is, as I have not locked it out again or anything. And as far as I can tell I have not accidentally deactivated the features manually either.

I guess the malfunction could be caused by having repeatedly flung this thing around in frustration too often. Oops. That's a shame though. I thought this stupid slate was much tougher than that. I had hoped to use it as a blunt weapon if the need arose.

Anyway. Another crazy find: this slate is filled to the brim with Purah's research notes on ancient tech. I know we didn't accidentally switch our slates out before, so clearly something weird happened when we worked on mine the last time I was in Hateno. If and when I make it off this island alive, I will have a bone to pick with her about this.


Day Two :

A ghostly voice greeted me this morning. I thought I was going crazy - well, crazier - but it was a real voice. The voice of a Sheikah Monk.

"To you who has traveled here," he said (or something like that) "I present a challenge. You've relied on your equipment you've found during your travels thus far. You must cast aside this equipment and face this trial with your wits and whatever you can scavenge. Offer up the orbs to the three altars, and I will acknowledge your skill and return your items."

So this too is a shrine trial. Lovely. I suppose that explains why my slate's features are disabled...

I say this unashamedly. But the most important bit of information I got from this is that the apparent loss of Mipha's armor - and my other equipment of course - is only temporary. As a result of this knowledge, I find myself in better spirits today.

In the meantime, I've been able to hunt and kill some small animals, including a boar. I skinned its hide and laid it out to dry. I think it will become useful later for the armor set I intend to build.

As for the menu tonight: nothing but delicious pork chops.

It is going to be a very good night indeed.


Day Three:

So much for being technologically challenged. I somehow managed to get my runes working again. All by myself. Take that, Purah.

All it took was a little tinkering. And, well... Beating it against a tree repeatedly for several minutes.

But hey, I got my bombs back. With perfect timing too. I discovered a small group of bokoblins napping by a fire while I wandered the beach earlier. These idiotic creatures left a pile of explosive barrels nearby.

Who does that?

Needless to say, they did not last very long. Thank you, remote bombs.

In the remains of their campsite I managed to recover a set of some old rusted weapons, and an old bow. Spent most of the afternoon polishing and sharpening this gear, as well as making arrowheads from their bones. Better be prepared for when I inevitably stumble upon even more monster camps during this trial.

Ah. And in other news, I have pants now. Leaf pants.

Which means it's finally time for some real hunting tomorrow. I can already smell the piles of delicious, decadent seared steak now…


Day Four:

Just to note, trousers made of leaves are NOT ideal protection for running through the jungle brush. Ow.

Anyway. I dared to venture deeper into the forest, and what do you know. Another monster encampment. And the first of the three orbs.

But this camp, unlike the one on the beach, was rather elaborate. A tree house of sorts. Five bokoblins lived there, and every one of them wielded bows and arrows. The long-range battle was on. The result? Five bokoblins, five headshots. Eat your heart out Revali.

Deciding it was a shame to let this neat fort go to waste, I decided to go ahead and move camp here instead. I spent the rest of the day reinforcing the walls, demolishing the stairway up, and building a removeable ladder. I do not want anything weird sneaking up on me while I am up here. Besides, I do not really mind the extra work. It keeps me focused, keeps me away from stray thoughts. Of which there are quite a lot these days.

So my days are well preoccupied with the shrine trial at-hand. This is fine.

It's the nighttime that really gets to me.

I do not sleep very much. The nights seem to drag on forever, my brain tossing and turning inside my skull, replaying my failures over and over and over in a tremendously miserable loop. I came to this place for peace and for solace. What I am getting is precisely the opposite.

Not a single night goes by… where I don't think of Mipha. Not a single night passes... where I do not long to be with her again.

Imagine, if you will, that you have someone in your life who is so amazing, so incredibly essential to your very being, that your heart is permanently bound to them. Now imagine that same person is suddenly and violently torn away from you. A limb, forever severed. A heart forever shattered.

All of those times you spent together, supporting each other, living, laughing, loving…

You will never have any moments like that again.

You will never again share the joy and comfort you feel from their mere presence next to you.

You will never again lay down together in the peaceful still of the night, holding each other close without worry or care.

You will never love again.

In my life so far, I have been impaled, slashed, struck by arrows, electrocuted, and set on fire. In the memories I've regained so far, I have lost many people...

But there has never been any pain like the pain of losing Mipha. It is completely incomparable to anything I have ever known.

And so, I just hope Ganon knows that I am coming for him, with the most extreme prejudice. And when I arrive, his destruction will be so sure, so complete, so absolute, so incredibly thorough... that he will wish he'd never existed. He will be obliterated.


Day Five:

Found a Hinox today. It wears the second orb around its neck. As is usual, I was tempted to challenge the creature immediately, without fear or care.

But I restrained myself. I hesitated.

Because Mipha would not want this.

Her old, familiar glances of disapproval at my recklessness - a common sight from my childhood - flashed repeatedly through my brain in that moment. I could almost hear her calm, disapproving tone... gently easing me away from yet another potentially catastrophic move.

And so I retreated. I will tackle the Hinox once I am better prepared.

It really is quite strange though. This island… it's doing something to me. Changing me. I have yet to decide if it is for the better or not.

I have nothing else to say.

Bye.


Day Seven:

Something interesting I discovered. Been reading Purah's research notes to pass the time (or to help me fall asleep, in some cases). She has made several mentions of a mysterious rumored "god" creature that is capable of resurrecting animals. Some sort of great fairy castoff? Or perhaps something far more sinister?

Whatever the case may be, this entity seems to be located somewhere deep in the western Faron region.

Now. Resurrection is an interesting prospect for sure. It certainly raises a lot of questions as well - like, if this being truly exists… is its power limited to only animals? What about people?

And do I even dare to travel down that road?

It seems Purah never actually found this skeletal "god" herself. So it's a longshot, I know. Besides. The very idea of opposing the divine will of the goddess… resurrecting the dead… fighting against the very nature of mortality... it's all really rather taboo, is it not? Who am I to selfishly play god?

I have always believed that the afterlife is real. I have always believed that the realm after this one - where all good spirits go - is where both my parents now reside. I have no doubts… that Mipha too is destined to be with the goddesses for all eternity.

But this notion is hardly a comfort for me now, I am pained to admit.

So I suppose that a brief search and a consultation won't hurt anything in the end... If I just so happen to be in that area some day, if I just so happen to survive this crazy ordeal, perhaps I will indeed pay a visit to this 'god' creature.

What have I got to lose?

Everything I knew is already lost anyway.


Day Nine:

Several enormous pieces of information to report on today.

First: My armor is complete. In the forest I found a skull belonging to some creature with curved horns and a flowing red mane. This is my helmet.

On the chest of my armor: boar leather with furry pauldrons.

My gauntlets, pants, and boots are all composed of a bull's hide, a prize from a big kill two days ago. Dried bokoblin bones adorn the more critical components of the armor, thus finishing the set.

The completion of this armor has been perfectly timed with the second bit of news: I found the final orb yesterday. Well, I found its location anyway. Inside the biggest encampment of moblins and bokoblins that I have ever seen. I spent a large part of that afternoon scouting out their camp from trees just outside of their vision. It is apparent that they have ruled the island unchallenged for quite some time. Figured I could use their lack of preparation to my advantage… or to have a bit of fun.

So I covered my body with elaborate decals using boar blood. I waited until nightfall, and began to patrol the outskirts of the camp, roaring and grunting and snapping twigs. I slaughtered any lone bokoblins that tried to investigate, leaving their remains out in the open to be discovered. I have allowed myself to be spotted numerous times. And it is having the desired effect.

I can hear them talking in their strange language, scared of this hyper-violent entity that terrorizes them when darkness falls. And here on the second night, they don't dare to travel out of the camp alone anymore.

The thought is pretty hilarious: These evil monsters - the dark minions of a wicked and ancient calamity that devastated the entire world - are afraid of a ghost in the night.


Day Twelve:

Today I decided to slaughter every single monster in that entire camp. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.


Day ?:

I now possess two of the three orbs. Their names are Lynda and Octavius. It is nice to finally have others to talk to. Lynda is pretty funny, she told me a joke this morning that had me laughing for hours. Her deadpan delivery really brought it home for me. They say humor is entirely about the method of transport, not the contents. But she has got both in spades.

Octavius on the other hand is way way way too quiet. He literally never talks, just sits there quietly. Analyzing, watching, waiting...

What kind of boring person stays silent and intensely focused all the time? There's no merit to being totally expressionless, just to cover over your insecurities and weaknesses. What a terrible way to live! Anyway. I'm tired of being a third wheel. So I guess it's time to start planning how to retrieve the third orb - Monty - from the dreaded Hinox. Lynda and Octavius have offered to help, but I had to turn them down. Neither one of them can wield a sword very well.


Day Seventeen (Probably):

The other two altars have been activated, and only one remains. Which means it's time.

I will be rescuing Monty from the mighty Hinox tonight.

Every trap has been set, I have a full belly, my armor is reinforced, and I have plenty of weapons. I am more than ready to take this thing on.

...But if it just so happens, that this is my final entry…

Just know that I went out with no regrets. That I went out on my own terms. That I left behind a foreign, failed world that I seem to have no real business being in. No business, that is, other than being the hero. Whatever that even means anymore.

Perhaps, one way or another, this trial was meant to show me if I'm the champion that Hyrule truly needs...

...Or to prove that I am nothing more than a mere fish out of water.

Let us find out, shall we?

-Link


MYUUURGGH!

The enormous black piglike creature climbed to its feet and wrested the arrow from its single eye. Annoyed, it turned to face Link, licked its chops, and began to make its way in his direction. It hadn't eaten in several days after all. And this strange boney creature that was attacking it looked to be quite appetizing…

Now that the Hinox stood straight up in front of him, Link realized just how massive this one truly was. It had to be at least twenty feet tall. Its apelike arms dangled from its sides all the way down to the knees of its stubby legs. It was almost wider than it was tall, and the great rolls of fat on its body jostled and jiggled to-and-fro as it took each heavy step in Link's direction.

Link kept his eyes trained on the creature, backpedaling deeper and deeper down the forest path. Above them, a series of criss-crossing vines that he had assembled days prior. He waited for just the right moment… and…

There.

He let an arrow fly, cutting through a single vine tied to a nearby tree. The entire webbed canopy released immediately, raining down a huge cluster of jagged rocks Link had previously set up there. They all piled onto the Hinox, slicing its outer flesh into ribbons, spraying blood all over the immediate area. It fell to one knee for a brief moment, before quickly recovering and returning to its chase.

It wasn't going down that easily of course.

They continued to make their way up the hill, with Link occasionally firing an arrow straight into the eyeball of the Hinox and slicing it with a sharpened broadsword while it was incapacitated. Though he was certainly weakening the creature, he still had a ways to go before killing it. But if all went according to plan… he'd have this whole thing wrapped up right as night fell.

Just to test the durability of this creature, Link tried exploding a few remote bombs in its face as well. But this seemed to have as much effect on it as passing wind in its general direction.

Before long, the Hinox had chased Link all the way to the ruins of the enormous campsite he'd previously decimated. Link suddenly sprinted all the way across the base, stepping over countless decaying body parts strewn about - evidence of his relentless slaughter many days prior.

The bleeding Hinox began to waddle over towards him. But Link knew he'd at least have a few seconds to do what needed to be done. The Hinox took one step into the base... then immediately fell into a carefully-concealed hole Link had set up. Giant wooden spikes lined the bottom, and the beast found itself painfully impaled through its body in several places. It let out a cry of sheer agony. But this too would not be sufficient to kill the thing either. Sure enough, it furiously climbed its way out of the shallow hole and continued its pursuit.

Fortunately, Link was already clear across the camp by then. He quickly spun around and stopped in front of a huge slab of metal, pulling out his Sheikah Slate as he did. He used stasis on the slab, and began to pound repeatedly on it with an axe he'd found before. Frozen in time, the large piece of metal started storing tremendous amounts of kinetic energy in the direction of the charging Hinox. Link counted down the seconds as he pounded away. He just hoped that he had timed stasis correctly…

Four…

The Hinox began to pick up speed.

Three…

The Hinox was ten feet away, licking its lips.

Two…

The Hinox was five feet away, staring straight at Link with its arm outstretched...

One…

Link paused.

Nothing.

...Uh oh.

And then the Hinox was upon him, bending over to grab him and tear him limb from limb-

FWAAAAAH!

The metal slab EXPLODED straight out from in front of Link, instantly cutting through the Hinox with incredible power before continuing to fly up and over the distant treetops. The towering monster was sheared perfectly in half at the mid-section, its torso spinning and spiraling several yards away. Barrels of gore spurted all across the entirety of the campsite. Soaked from top to bottom with the creature's blood, Link calmly took on Sidon's classic pose in victory.

And for the first time in many weeks, he genuinely smiled.


He made his way over to the final orb. The one that would mercifully bring an end to this challenge.

It's been fun… I guess. Link thought. But I believe it's time to finally move on.

The orb was still tied to the neck of the grossly dismembered Hinox, and Link had a brief problem cutting through the thick rope that bound it. But after some sawing, he'd removed it. He held the orb above his head in triumph, and began to make his way over to the final altar - once covered by the metal slab he'd used to slay the beast.

And that's that. Now it's time to-

...Wait a minute. What is this?

Soot-like particles of red and purple began to float through the air all around Link. The night sky, once lit brightly by the light of the full moon, now glowed an eery red. A feeling of foreboding set into Link's very soul…

The clouds overhead accelerated their movement, rolling and cascading across the sky. The air was saturated with pure malice, burning Link's lungs. And as he glanced up at the sky, he finally saw it -

The moon. It was blood red . And growing larger by the second.

Tendrils of dark energy frayed out from it in every direction as it rose. It seemed to be staring directly at him, like a great evil eye in the sky - filling Link with an incredible sense of dread-

"Link… Link…."

A familiar voice filled his head...

Zelda!

"Link… be on your guard. Ganon's power grows… it rises to its peak under the hour of the blood moon. By the moon's glow, the aimless spirits of monsters slain in the name of the light return to flesh..."

Body parts from countless slain creatures swirled up and around Link. They began to crudely reassemble themselves, formed once again in the likeness of the beings they once were. Puffs of red smoke exploded out across the campsite one after another... and the deed was done - the undead monsters were reborn.

These mutilated, bleeding zombie creatures snarled and roared in his direction, recognizing the man who'd killed them. They appeared quite eager to return the favor...

Link immediately dropped the orb and drew his broadsword, swinging wildly in a vain effort to kill them all, before they'd each fully revived...

And then it hit him.

"Link…"

He spun around, his eyes widened in shock and frustration.

"...Please be careful."

Standing right in front of him, the revived black Hinox grunted loudly...


He slid on his knees under the legs of the Hinox and sprinted down the jungle path towards the beach. The revived monsters immediately gave chase, the Hinox bringing up the rear. He replaced his broadsword and drew his bow, letting loose a hailstorm of arrows that managed to take out about half a dozen of them. But soon, his arrows were depleted.

To further hold them off, Link began to throw a steady beat of remote bombs behind him, sending creatures flying left and right.

But there was simply too many of them.

Just need to make it to the beach… almost there...

Though the creatures were fast, even in their decayed state, Link was just a little bit faster. He hit the beach several minutes later, making his way across the sand just as the massive undead army exploded from the shrubbery behind him. In the distance, he could hear the angry stomps of the revived Hinox, ready to avenge its earlier death at the hands of this Hylian…

The monsters were gaining, so he picked up the pace. He scanned the beach with his eyes, searching for the spot where he'd marked it…

There.

A rusted spear protruded from the sands up ahead, and Link made his way to it. He dropped a single remote bomb in the spot, ran a little ways, then detonated it as soon as the first bokoblin reached it-

-But he misjudged the range of the blast.

The explosive barrels he'd buried below the sands all detonated at once, shooting Link across the beach and vaporizing dozens of charging bokoblins and moblins. Their body parts rained down from the heavens as Link rolled onto his feet and examined himself.

He was not on fire.

That's a first...

As the smoke billowed and rose up and above the beach, Link got a good glimpse of the damage. He'd wiped out roughly half of the charging army of decayed monsters - but thirty remained, as did the angry charging Hinox.

Link shrugged, drew a large rusty claymore from his back, and took his typical battle pose.

I suppose in the end… it always comes down to brute force…

The first two waves of bokoblins descended upon Link. In a flash, he spun around and slammed the ground in front of him with his claymore, scattering a handful of the screaming little creatures across the beach. From directly behind them, a weaponless moblin lumbered after…

Well, this should be easy to kill.

As if on cue, the moblin reached over, picked up a kicking, screaming bokoblin warrior, and flung it straight at Link.

You have got to be kidding me.

He batted the poor helpless bokoblin straight into the ocean, then used the momentum from his swing to begin spinning uncontrollably down the beach, right in the direction of the zombified creatures. The charging moblin was instantly slain, along with roughly a dozen bokoblins. Link continued to spin wildly, slaughtering each and every idiotic monster that blindly stampeded his way.

He was growing dizzy from the spin, growing exhausted from the constant running and fighting, but he couldn't afford to lose focus now. Not with the Hinox still charging-

Wait. Where's the Hinox?

BONK!

Link's crazy spin attack abruptly ended, his damaged claymore shattering off the tough leg of the angry Hinox that had finally caught up with the fight. Link recoiled, shook the pain from his wrists, and drew his broadsword from his back. Without hesitation, he backflipped from the Hinox's vicious swipe and slid under its legs again.

Only this time, the monster was ready. It leapt straight into the air and landed on the ground with a large thud.

CRUNCH.

Link grunted in pain as the beast's hefty bottom landed straight on his leg, crushing his bones. The Hinox hopped to his feet, and turned to face him. Link hobbled on one leg, swinging madly at the relentless final wave of monsters. He gritted his teeth as the incredible pain shot up from his destroyed limb. The darkness of exhaustion and pure agony threatened to pull him under, but he remained resilient - even as he was tackled by the final three bokoblins. With the Hinox bearing down directly at him, Link drew a second broadsword and swung wildly in every direction. He looked up just in time to see the descending fist of the Hinox, rolling backwards and out of the way as the last of the bokoblins were crushed beneath the hands of the one-eyed creature.

As Link scrambled to stand on his good foot again, the Hinox reared back and let out an uncharacteristic roar. Its visage was utterly horrifying against the blood-red light of the moon. Bodily fluids oozed out of the seam from its reassembled midsection, its tattered flesh hung around its entire body in strips.

But it didn't move to strike him. At least not immediately.

It stopped and stared at Link, licking its chops as if it were savoring this moment. As if it were memorizing the picturesque scene of this crippled Hylian standing before the presence of his inevitable demise…

Link stood his ground. He refused to cower, refused to run. It wasn't like he was going to get very far anyway...

Finally, the Hinox made a move. It reached over and ripped a palm tree straight out of the beach. It slammed the tree to the ground, splintering it in half. It wielded the tree like a blunt weapon, and began to approach the injured Hylian. It began to take hasty swipes at Link, which he somehow managed to dodge -

- until the last swipe caught him right in the chest, launching him clear across the beach again. He hit the ground hard, the air escaped him. He tried to climb back up to one leg, but collapsed on his back again in agony. His breathing was incredibly labored, his head throbbed painfully. He rolled over to his knees and stared at the ground for a while. He coughed violently, spattering blood all over the sand below him.

The Hinox strangely took its time approaching him again, which gave him a brief chance to gather himself.

Punctured lung, mild concussion, broken leg… is that it?

With a great sigh, he examined his leg. Lifted it up, attempted to put pressure on it.

"ARRGH..."

Panicked, he looked around him, found his broadswords laying on the ground near him, crawled over to them on his stomach as quick as he could.

The Hinox barreled down on him, its pace finally accelerating to a full run. And in that moment, Link's fear completely left him. His intense focus returned. And with a quiet shout of determination, he forced himself to rise.

No matter what, no matter the pain… he'd make his last stand on both feet.

Link leaned forward, ignoring the terrible ache in his leg, and began to run blindly towards the charging Hinox. His leg creaked and cracked under the strain, and he nearly stumbled, but kept on.

The Hinox swung its splintered log at Link, and he rolled under it quickly before jumping straight up to slash at the beast's midsection. Both of his swords found their marks, and the creature's blood poured out of it in a massive flow, soaking Link again.

In pain, the beast fell backwards onto its rear as Link continued his counterassault. He crawled up the front of the creature and let loose a mad flurry rush of swipes straight into its eyeball.

The blinded Hinox attempted to leap to its feet and return a flurry of swings with its own weapon. But its movements grew sluggish, its attacks labored with the rapid loss of blood from its stomach. Pure adrenaline flowed through Link's body, blocking out the immense pain in his chest and leg. So he kept his focus, dodging the beasts's slowing strikes with ease.

He had the upper had now. With the Hinox blinded and bleeding out, it was a simple matter of waiting for one last opening, and then-

THUNK THUNK THUNK.

Three arrows cleanly entered Link's back. He stumbled to his left, collapsed to the ground just out of reach of the Hinox's blind swings. Link spun his head around wildly, searching for the source.

There.

A lone red bokoblin stood in the forest nearby, celebrating its successful attack. It reached into its quiver to draw more arrows, hoping to finish the job.

Against his better judgement, Link reached behind his back, ripped an arrow from his own flesh, and shot the last bokoblin with his bow. It fell to the ground, dead. And Link once again turned his attention to the suffering Hinox.

But there was no need.

It had collapsed onto the sands of the beach, a lake of blood surrounding it. Its breathing had stopped. It no longer moved at all.

The Hinox had fallen. This time, for good.

Battered and broken, Link simply stared blankly after the fallen monster. And he allowed himself one last sigh...

His consciousness was waning in and out. The darkness was encroaching. He was dizzy, faint, and fading.

He'd known it instantly from the very moment he was struck. One of the arrows had pierced his heart.

He didn't have much time now.


Link hobbled over to the cool ocean waters, calmly seating himself on the beach. The blood moon slowly faded from the sky overhead, replaced by a familiar white glow that reflected around him. It was a somber but welcome reminder of a much happier time, now lost to calamity.

His blood pooled around him, his life slowly drained away, his vision began to fade as his brain grew more and more starved of oxygen.

And yet… he felt a strange sense of bliss.

For he no longer felt any pain, no longer felt sorrow. He had no regrets.

I… can think of far more ignoble deaths than this. He thought to himself.

I always imagined I'd fall in battle anyway.

A grim smile spread across his face.

Mipha… I suppose I'll be meeting you again much sooner than expected.

The thought of this sent a feeling of pure warmth across his cold skin, and he collapsed on his side abruptly. His motor functions failed him. His head bounced off the ground forcefully. He paid no notice, no care.

Finally, the young Hylian warrior closed his weary eyes. He accepted the gentle pull of darkness in his soul, and in his heart.

And with one final, weak, painless gasp, Link quietly perished.


Next: Memories of Mipha Part 6: Hylian Fiancé.