Huge lack of uploads, sorry just been v busy.

I'm moving into the last set of memories. For these I won't be going into what happens when the calamity hits because we already know what happens. There's nothing I can really add to that part of botw and it would just be adding unnecessary words into the story. I will be wrapping up a few storylines and it still should be just as satisfying.

Uploads will be at least once a week from this point onwards.

Thanks if you're still reading :)

Chapter 23- There Beneath the Trees (post)

What a curious sight. Full grown lad, fit as anything you'd ever see, lying back to the world beneath him, surrounded by curious, awkward eyes. He'd attracted attention just coming in the first place, thundering in like a storm with a kind face. All the Hylians looked up from their fire pits, nefarious card games and several day old stew, in a state of awe.

On the surface he looked young, as unspoiled as those new spring flowers that seemed to be springing up all over. He leapt off his horse paying the stable owner handsomely and as he looked around nervously at them it became clear that there was something else behind it all. The kid was handsome and didn't know it but it wasn't just that the way he stood, the look he gave them all he looked…older.

Something was clearly wrong with him. He was whispering to himself, which to be fair wasn't uncommon around the average lonely traveller, but then there were the bursts of rage and the way he mercilessly slaughtered those logs. Something told them all he really wasn't someone you wanted bother.

When they looked in his eyes there were flames behind them, burning like the malice that could be seen from Hyrule Castle. For years it had felt like it dominated the land around them, stretching out its image like a creeping dark hand, but the strange purple fire and the beast that came with it had been gone for some weeks now. It had all started when the divine beasts had fired on the Castle, light exploding out of it like a bomb of divinity. Then came the even stranger lights coming from the forbidden field of Hyrule

It lasted several hours but eventually, one morning the flames, malice and beast were all gone and a great peace eased over them for what felt like the first time in years.

All the hunters and travellers looked down at the boy and when his eyes slowly blinked open, those striking blue pearls reminded them of just that. Once there were flames behind them and now there were not.

All the gentle murmurs fell silent as Link eased himself upwards. The faces were expectedly a little confused but strangely enough they were all smiling kindly at him and at an even bigger twist Link found himself unexplainably smiling back.

Going back into the past had not been easy before. Each time he had awoken in a crushing wave of consciousness, yet now despite the mixture of emotions that bubbled around him, Link felt rested.

Just like that his watchers got up and returned to their posts of lax work as though the disturbance had never happened, conversation immediately returning to the price of food and the dangers of the roads to the east.

Link needed to make a fire but he allowed himself a few moments to just sit and watch things pass by. He had hardly noticed just how peaceful it was around here, where the trees met the Hylia River and the hills could be seen rising into mountains in the distance. The rush of wildlife was now beginning to retreat for the night, as the chirp of crickets rang the bell for the days end.

Bringing himself to his feet Link paused as he noticed the spirit leaning by the tree. The blue shade of Alfonzo stood there watching, this time without that grinding wide grin but with a neutral almost mournful look.

Link gathered the firewood strewn around his feet and began to make up the camp. The spirit did not speak once.

He woke himself up in the early hours of the morning. The stables next to the river were illuminated in a gentle orange light, though the gentle noise from the campfires and cooking pots had died down to a sleepy silence.

In his past the road nights had been more than uncomfortable, Link had both had to watch out for the rising danger and any escape attempts made by Zelda. Most of the time the orange glow came from the flames of the fire, his duties never gave him time to look at a sunrise. He was happy the new set memories had ended on a nice note but he didn't envy the life of that Link.

Leaving a few rupees for the stable master Link mounted Epona and began to journey north. It wasn't long before she got grumpy from the heat and weight and began to shake her neck uncomfortably. Eventually the grumbling became too much and Link leapt off the horse.

"Alright I didn't know I weighed so much, I'll keep off the meat skewers for a while," Link said as he ran his light fingers through the white mane of the steed.

Epona huffed moodily and Link grabbed the reigns. It looked like he would have to lead her by the reigns for the full distance. Time seemed to slug by but eventually they made it above the line of hills that hemmed the north of Central Hyrule.

Just in the distance stretched the nest of tangled trees, Hyrule Forest. Already after Ganon's demise the previously dead canopy of the lost woods was beginning to spring leaves for the first time since the rise of Ganon. With the sword in Link's possession and evil kept at bay, there was little need for any major tricks or trials. The Koroks would have to deal with stray tourists in some other way.

Everything around was alive with a brilliant green and there beneath it all the buzz of life hummed from the various insects, each making a noise fifty times their own size. The walk to Hyrule Forest had been a strange one every time Link took it. Even now, after the collapse of much of the civilized kingdom it was like stepping slowly away from the world of people. The dusty path became less defined. The markings of feet, horses and carts fading away from existence, roots and shoots began to burst from the ground beneath, taking back the soil they used to own.

The sun came down with a kind of heat that seemed all around, like an invisible fog that clung to his exposed skin. It was an intense lazy heat that made the whole world mover a little slower.

His mood hadn't improved much from the walk over. Ever since he'd woken up from those visions Link had been stuck with a sickening mix of emotions down in his stomach. Every now and then an image would leak into his head causing a flood of feelings that he couldn't quite explain. It was like all this recollection had poked holes in whatever held his memories and now they seeped out like water in a broken bucket.

It all felt incredibly heavy and soon Link found himself overcome with fatigue and settled his legs of stone under a tall lone tree at the side of the slowly shrinking path. With the full weight of his body Link leant back against the tree and let his eyes close for just a moment. This was the sort of place he could see himself in another life, not a stress to speak of and just taking in the space around, like the air to his lungs.

"You need to take a good look at your work ethic kid its horrendous…" the spirit jived.

Link opened his eyes and with a lazy twist of his head, glanced over to the blue apparition. He was leant against the same tree to the side and looked down at him half in curiosity and half in that same smug narcissism. It was a look that got to Link but in a place like this it was hard to find issue with the world. So Link returned his head slowly to its resting position against the tree and closed his eyes again.

"Here was me thinking I could enjoy the peace for once," Link drawled. "You've been silent all day, which lets face isn't your strongpoint and you choose to break it now?"

There was a gentle chuckled from behind. "I almost felt too bad to break you out of your own self-delusions… almost."

"Don't tell me you're growing a conscience in your old age," Link murmured. "I wouldn't believe it if you did."

There was a long pause and for a moment Link almost checked over his shoulder to see if Alfonzo had disappeared altogether but like always the silence was broken by something.

"We're almost there Link. You've almost recovered all those precious memories. How do you feel? Exited? Nervous?" There was a strange tone to that normal gleeful voice. "I must say I'm a little sad myself."

Link kept quiet.

The spirit continued to poke: "After that string of memories you probably feel reborn, revitalised, a far cry from the others I'm sure. Though you know how this set ends and it's less pretty than you could ever imagine."

He felt his teeth bite down firmly on the inside of his cheeks which now felt hot under the sun.

"Let me ask this?" Alfonzo said gently. "What exactly are you expecting to happen when you go back to the resting place of the sword? You'll arrive, place the sword where it is and everything will be automatically better. You'll be at peace with all those horrific memories, begin to feel the same happiness you had as a child and return to Zelda and all your borderline boring friends a new man."

Suddenly the sound of the cicadas seemed to pierce his ear with the gentle buzz now becoming a sharp shriek. The bark beneath Link's head turned rough and dug into the top of his back awkwardly.

"Want me to tell you the truth?" the spirit asked. "I'm sure you already feel it bubbling at the bottom of your stomach, like a sea ready to erupt into a storm. There's a reason you chose to feel nothing about all those memories of the past. When you place that sword back and come into this world again you'll beg to go back to the way you were. That or you'll go mad with grief."

The insects cry was changing now and Link couldn't keep the images at bay for that room covered in blood. He shivered almost like he lay trembling in that room once again, so gripped by fear that he couldn't even move. The buzz had turned to the screams of his mother.

"When you return you will find a kingdom in tatters, all because when the princess depended on you the most, all you could do was run away and hide. Zelda will fail to bring them together because both of you were never capable of doing what was needed… You will always fail."

"You're wrong!" Link bit, as he shot up from his resting place. When he looked around he found the spirt was gone and he was alone with Epona again.

"Princess are you awake?"

To Zelda that was a question almost too obvious. She had spent too many nights like this, lying awake and staring at the celling like it was about to start moving down to crush her. For a moment she considered pretending to stay asleep but, closing her eyes and pretending to slip off into another world wasn't really working at the moment.

Zelda sat up and looked across drowsily at Paya and smiled, "What's up."

She had gotten up a little too quickly and startled Paya backwards a few steps but, the girl quickly regained her nerve and knelt down close to the furs of Zelda's bedroll. Soon she began to return the smile.

"I'm sorry princess I didn't mean to intrude it's just I can't sleep," Paya stumbled.

"Don't worry I've been much the same, tell me what's keeping you up?"

Zelda motioned for her to sit at the edge of her makeshift bed, which stood slightly above the ground. Paya complied hesitantly. She sat crossed legged, eyes fixated on her fingers that fumbled slowly, like she was weaving delicate embroidery. Often Zelda forgot just how strange it was for people to pull down their guard around her. It was something that came with the power to chop off anyone's head at a single order.

"When we heard you and Link had defeated Ganon everyone in Kakariko was overjoyed, I've never seen Kakariko so full of life and I don't think I've ever seen grandmother so happy and relaxed. When I saw you for the first time I almost cried, and to see Link safe I—" Paya paused and took a gulp. "Things were bad before, people were good at hiding it but, you could see the doubt on their faces. It was only a matter of time before our fragile lives were going to come crashing down and everyone knew it. I always try to stay positive but there's so little I can do in all of this. Often I feel so powerless from it all but I know this… You and Link give me hope and I know it's the same for everyone else here."

Her hands and formed balls as if she was squeezing the words out of herself. "I want you to know that I know you'll make things work with the council and that L—Link will be back—not that it's my business—I mean of course it isn't—I just you know—kinda see, stuff?" Paya shut her eyes tightly and cringed. "I'm rambling again aren't I? I should talk less."

Zelda's smile had only grown bigger through Paya's speech and when the girl looked up with trepidation, her eyes widened a little.

"Princess..?"

"Paya every time you talk it makes me reminds me of why I do all of this, if anything I wish you talked more."

"Princess I—"

Zelda moved forwards slightly and gripped Paya's two hands with her own and cutting her words short. Looking down at Paya's hands soon the happiness brought by her speech began to plummet in her chest and she felt the crushing despair begin to grow again.

"Paya there's so much riding on everything tomorrow and I know I can't look to Impa for help again. Even if they respect her I can't ride off that forever, I have to become what my father was when he held the reigns of the kingdom and I find myself doubting how I can even begin to command that kind of authority. You see I never learned how to lead I was always shoved into a temple to pray because, that was all my role was. Then for the past one hundred years all I've done is keep Ganon dormant which didn't give much space for learning the nuances of politics and ruling a kingdom."

Zelda let out a long sigh. It seemed Paya was unmoving holding onto her every word. The thought popped into her mind that saying her doubts aloud, might not be the best thing for someone trying to keep the whole world together. Still she was too deep into it now to stop.

"Then of course there's Link…" as Zelda said his name Paya shifted quickly like she had been hit with a jolt of electricity. "I've spent so long all alone trapped in battle with Ganon, that when I saw Link I guess I just expected that I—" the words caught in her throat but she bit through the sick feeling in her gut. "I thought that if he got his memories back that things would go back to the way they were… that I wouldn't have to face it all alone anymore. I forced all those terrible memories on him Paya, and to experience them all in a few days, it's just so undeniably cruel. I've been so selfish."

She wasn't going to cry. Though the tears rimmed her eyes she refused to let them drop there was no way she would shed another tear, not when there was so much in the balance.

When she looked up to her surprise Paya was crying for her but she was biting down hard on her lip and her eyebrows arched as harshly as they could in anger.

"Stop!" Paya's sharpness almost made Zelda jump from the bed. "Just stop… You're not cruel or selfish. So many terrible things have happened to you and the only way you can justify it is by saying 'I'm a bad person', but you're not. Bad things happen all the time to all sorts of people, it doesn't matter how nice you are. What sort of person would be evil enough to be punished with a one hundred year dungeon?"

Damn the twilight it seemed her tears weren't taking her best interests at heart as they began to fall freely. Zelda wanted to speak badly but by opening her mouth she was probably going to invite sobbing which was something she really didn't want to do in front of anyone.

"Link will come back," Paya said firmly squeezing Zelda's hand so hard she might crush it like a nutshell. "No matter how long you wait he always does."

Zelda sniffed and smiled. Paya smiled back.

"Don't tell me you're lost or I'll really lose it."

Link groaned as he spotted the tree he'd passed about six times. The forest had been easier to navigate when it was full of dead trees and fog. Now the floor was covered with lush plants, blooming bushes and the blinding rays of light that shot into your eyes like a dagger from every direction. Life burst out from all around as insects' hums and buzzes filled the air and birds could be heard from the canopy above.

From the undergrowth he heard the rustle and clattering of what had to be mischievous Koroks. Most of the time the little troublemakers were bored out of their minds, a hylian getting lost must be primetime entertainment for them.

"You are lost, aren't you?" Alfonzo began to chuckle to himself.

The shadow of the canopy was doing little to keep away the sweltering heat. Link was already feeling the fatigue run down to his bones, seeping into every joint. He took another long drink from the water skin by his side which ran down him like a wave of relief.

"How different things would've been if Hyrule didn't have a child for a hero, if the one chosen by the sword had the stomach to do what was needed to save the most, to stop all the suffering."

"And you would do better," Link growled.

"You'll see soon enough boy! I had the vision to break us all out," Alfonzo returned with twice the bite. "As a child does you blindly looked at the people around you and the future of tomorrow. I looked at the Hyrule thousands of years from now, a kingdom that would not falter for an eternity and if it did it would not be or the games of Gods who know nothing of what they are doing."

Wrong turn again, Link had been in here for almost an hour now and had hardly made it a ways from the entrance to the grand forest. A moaning spirit sure didn't do wonders for the concentration. Link knew talking back would only worsen the situation but the frustration was drowning him.

"What about those children you killed or Boudi your damned friend, my father even my mother?" Link questioned.

"They were all going to die, in the end I gave their lives meaning by pushing them towards the greater good."

"YOU MURDERED THEM IN COLD BLOOD."

Alfonzo began to laugh manically with his arms folded. Whole body mocking links clenched fists and ready stance.

"That's the difference between me and you Link. You get caught up on the little things. They drag you down with their weight until you can't even move. All this built up empathy is good for nothing, it all drags you away from your goal and it's why in the end even in victory you've lost. Me? I keep going, all those names are just posts on the path to MY goal and I never let them drag me down."

Link looked over the tall manifestation as Alfonzo pounded his chest in some sort of self-victory. There was a breeze flowing through the leaves of trees as though they were whispering, commenting on the verbal spat. All he had to do was turn around and keep going, conversations like these were pointless and Link had to get to the grove. As he looked over the man who had caused so much pain around him, he found his legs would not respond. They would not take another step.

"You know what?" Link said aloud surprising himself with his own voice.

The spirit looked at him confused but Link refused to humour him a second longer and turned his back.

"Maybe you were right all this time and that if I'd committed to my role in this world, fully committed, we might have been able to defeat Ganon. Maybe for good with your way," Link looked up through the leaves into the sunlight above. "There's one thing I'm sure of though— I know who I was— who I am. Even without all the memories, I know I put my all into the path that would save the most people."

"How noble of you…" Alfonzo mocked from behind.

"You talk about the greater good like there's no other way and that you have all the answers. That's all just a front though isn't it? Truth is you enjoyed killing all those people because, at the end of it all when you saw the future and past of Hyrule open up before you, it made you feel powerless. I know because I've felt it too— You created this world of absolutes, just to stop yourself from crumpling under it all and you relished in the pain and misery of all those around you."

Link sighed heavily looking down at his legs of stone.

"You're right though I've felt unable to carry these burdens for too long now, it's scary to be the person to hold up everyone's world but I know now. I'm ready to face it all, one last time."

The ambience of the woods remained but behind Link there was only silence. The blue apparition of Alfonzo was gone and Link was alone.

All that remained was the buzz of the forest and the whistle flowing through the leaves as they rustled like a gentle wave. Far in the distance there was another spirit, one that Link couldn't even make out. With a beckoning hand it turned and began to walk away.

Link followed transfixed by the distancing blue glow.

"Link…"

The words flowed with the breeze. Soon Link found the ground beginning to slope down and walls of rock moving upwards either side. Even with the more crowded forest Link knew this place, where the noise and air only pushed you in one direction, the atmosphere itself drawing you in like a vortex of water.

Link noticed an onlooker who disappeared quickly behind a rock in a squeal of panic. The rattle and giggles and squeaking of Koroks could be heard all around. Koroks had always been curious creatures to Link. They were as old as the forest but still managed to hold a sort of pure childlike innocence for so long.

The spirit disappeared into a large hollowed out tree which was now overcome with creeping vines and bursting vibrant mushrooms.

"Hey wait!" Link called and began to run after the spirit.

There was no chance he could make out who the spirit was and curiosity gripped him tightly. His pace slowed to a walk as he continued through the tunnel of wood. The sounds of the forest echoed around the long passage and beyond the gleaming light of the glade could be seen. The opening exploded with vibrancy and at its centre the empty pedestal.

Link withdrew the Master Sword with some unknowing want. It gleamed a solid blue just like in that cave all those years ago. The sword had more history than he could ever imagine and it went well beyond the days of his trouble past. Looking at it now Link wondered if those chosen before him ever got second thoughts, ever looked at what was before them and felt that dreaded fear take over. Maybe all the legends and tales were right about them. They all ran headlong into their destiny with some kind of otherworldly lack of fear.

No doubt in a few hundred years when Link's body lay cold in the ground people would make up the same legends about him, perhaps to let their kids sleep a little easier at night. Those tales would say little of his family, his doubts and his failures. Zelda would just be another princess among all the others, the stories would tell nothing of the overwhelming courage that would've put all the other heroes to shame.

Link jarred away from his thoughts as a familiar voice called to him

"Back already?" the booming gentle tones of the tree filled the open space. "And this time with even more questions than when you had no memory."

The branches of the tree began to shake slowly awake forcing the birds and insects to burst out of the leaves only to return moments later. All over red blossoms burst from the Deku Tree's branches now overwhelming the clearing with a warm sunset glow. It's lazy giant eyes blinked slowly at him with questioning intent.

"All those tales were wrong weren't they?" Link asked staring up at the tree.

"Well… I do add embellishments here or there. I might have overplayed just how young some of the heroes were and maybe Ganondorf's nose wasn't quite so big."

Link shook his head, "I mean the stories about the sword, how it brings out the soul of the hero and kills the past of that person."

The tree's eyebrows creaked upwards in a comical fashion displacing a few more rather annoyed birds. "Oh I see… Perhaps it's best you ignore the whole nose thing—"

"Deku Tree…"

"Right! Sorry…" The branches rustled from side to side like the tree was shifting in a seat to get comfortable. Eventually the branches settled down and the large warm eyes blinked slowly during the thoughtful silence.

When the tree began again its voice had an older more melancholic tone. "Every tale and legend has some truth to it, no matter how ludicrous it may sound and I can see how the Legend of the Sword came to be. After all you are not so different to the others that came before you. Some were younger, some were far more dark and serious but, you all share one quality."

The Deku shivered through the wind but his face remained perfectly still, enough to almost shock Link when it reanimated once again.

"You all have this need buried deep inside, an obsessive desperate need. For each the need was different but the result was always the same. Each of you saw the act of showing emotion to be weakness and committed yourselves to that perfect heroic image. Though the sword may bring this out in you all—"

"What your saying is…" Link began.

"It's just a sword," a gentle voice from behind made Link whizz around. "Nothing more than a piece of metal."

The full image of the spirit smiled at Link. Now it was all too obvious who he'd been chasing and who had lead him here. Glowing an ethereal blue, just like Alfonzo, she walked forwards, the grass moving only slightly with each step. As her head tilted to the side mischievously Link could not help but let out a happy gasp of air.

He looked back to the Deku Tree, who had been quiet for a little too long. His eyes were closed in a heavy sleep like Link had never even arrived.

"I don't understand," Link murmured. "You're not dead yet… right?"

There was a soft laugh as easy as the breeze ruffling the grass before Zelda spoke again, "No Link I'm not dead and I'm not really Zelda just like the last spirit wasn't really Alfonzo."

"So you're saying I've gone mad?" Link was beginning to get confused.

"Haven't you always been a little?" she jabbed. "Getting all those memories is a lot to process, it's like getting a thousand dreams in one sitting, of course there was going to be a little fallout."

"Then I am mad…" Link groaned.

"Look at it this way. You got flooded with all the memories of your last life and with that came all the emotions of that lifetime. It's no surprise you push it all down. Those things Alfonzo said were what you believed but now you know they're not true. He was the very image of your dread and anguish."

Link had forgotten he still had the sword in his hand. He didn't get that strange feeling when he looked at it anymore and did it feel a hell of a lot lighter in his hands.

"So if Alfonzo's my dread, what does that make you?" he asked.

"Oh Link," Zelda eyed him like he was telling the same joke for the thousandth time. "One hundred years, you think you'd be a little better at reading between the lines. Enough of that though, remember what you were here to do…"

Link looked down at the pedestal behind her with unease. That thing was either sucking the life from him body or, sending him into trials so harsh that he had blocked them out just to sleep a little better at night. Those were some memories he didn't want to relive. This was where it had all change though and the shinning green from his charm told him that he had one last trip to take.

"What you're about to see—it will help you understand," Zelda stretched a hand out towards him.

Link tentatively edged his hand to hers and to his surprise found his hands not to just vanish into the apparition. Instead his hands found warmth and a gentle grip clasped around his fingers. The warmth spread over her, turning the blue shimmering skin into the gleaming pale colour of skin. It continued to move over her shoulders and the golden clasp of the dress came to life, the white ceremonial dress beginning to crease and rustle in the wind. Finally colour returned to that smile which delivered a rush to his head like a punch to the gut.

Now Link stared into the green eyes that batted gently at him. It was the sort of eye contact you could drink up. She pulled him forwards a little though his eyes did not leave hers. For a moment they moved in a kind of trance until they both stood opposite ends to the pedestal. Her fingers brushed his as she released his hand and looked to the Master Sword.

Link held the sword up with both his hands and rasied it up above the pedestal. He looked down into the hole the blade had once rested and it called up like an outstretched hand. He began to hesitate but when he looked back to Zelda his nerves quickly eased. Her fingers clasped around his giving him a strength he never felt he had.

"One last time," she said smoothly. "Get back what you lost and come back to me, the real me."

Link nodded and as they both raised the blade in the air. With one swift plunge it cut through the air and implanted itself in stone.

Blue light exploded everywhere dragging Link up and for just this once Link put his fear and dread to one side. He let go.