~*~
It felt like he was falling forever. The concept of time became a foreign thing in the endless darkness.
The pain burning his flesh finally subsided to a dull throb. Link was just waiting for the inevitable splat! that his body would make when he reached the bottom of the pit.
However, it never came.
He could vaguely feel he was still falling due to the wind rushing past his ears, but it also felt like he was floating in place. It was truly surreal.
"Appointed knight, Hero of Hyrule, why has your heart become so broken?" A twinkling, ethereal voice suddenly called out to Link from all directions in the darkness.
The question pissed him off. "Who wouldn't be bitter and angry and sad towards this lousy situation?" Link grumbled, humoring the voice by answering.
"You saved the land and are now the strongest in all of Hyrule. You are loved and revered." The voice called back, taking on the tone as if it were explaining something simple to a child.
"What does that matter when I've lost everything?!" Link yelled out in frustration.
"What in Hylia's name is happening?" Link thought to himself. He had been in weird situation after weird situation since he awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection, but this certainly was up there.
"What will mend your broken heart, hero?" The twinkling voice asked.
His response was immediate. "Bring them back."
"Oh? You know this is not a simple request, right?" The twinkling voice asked in mock exasperation.
"You're the one who asked." Link grumbled, annoyed.
" I finally lost it. I suppose it was only a matter of time." Link reasoned with himself after a few moments of silence passed. The horrible nightmares, the sleepless nights, the constant paranoia. He was honestly shocked it had taken this long.
" I cannot change the course of this timeline, but you can change the course of another whose future is still uncertain." The twinkling voice called out, full of mirth.
"What does that even mean?" Link questioned himself.
"It means you'll have a second chance to save them." The voice called out. Link imagined the owner of the voice had a smile as they spoke.
"... Please grant me this chance." Link quietly begged. He had nothing to lose.
"My dear knight, you have everything to lose. What will you do if you fail?" The voice asked, it sounded annoyed.
"If I fail, it'll be because I died." Link said with steely reserve. "I will not fail."
The twinkling, ethereal voice laughed. "As expected from the hero of Hyrule. Very well, I will grant you this wish." The voice stated.
"...but?" Link questioned. No way would it be that easy.
"Hm you catch on quick, young man. I will grant you this wish, but know that in this timeline the items you depended on are no longer available to you and you will have the odds truly stacked against you in defeating the Calamity. I must have something entertaining to look forward to, after all." The twinkling voice laughed eerily.
"Hey wait! What does that mean?!" Link yelled out. However, no answer came and he felt himself suddenly falling faster.
"Hey!" Link continued to yell out even though he knew the voice was done conversing with him. The rush of air in his ears was deafening.
"Hey! I still have questions!" Link yelled out loudly.
He opened his eyes and jolted with a start. He was in bed, but not in his home in Hateno Village. He was… " these are the barracks near the castle."
He quickly threw off the itchy blanket and stood up.
"!" The throbbing pain near his heart had not gone away. It was his only proof that any of this was real.
He stumbled to the mirror and ripped his shirt open. A strange symbol was now there. It was golden in color. It looked like a triangle that had 4 smaller triangles inside. 3 of the four were holding each other up while the one in the center was upside down.
"I've seen this symbol before." Link wracked his brain but came up blank. It was frustrating not being able to recall what it was or what it meant. Hello! Nothing new there.
With a sigh, he discarded his torn shirt and began getting ready. He was on autopilot while his mind was going a million miles a minute. " I know where I am, but when am I? How long before the Calamity will strike? I have to say something about the guardians and the Divine Beasts if I'm not too late." Link's head was spinning.
Something clicked when he noticed the armor he was wearing. It was the standard armor for new knights of Hyrule. Link glanced in the mirror's direction again and noticed his face didn't look as tired and haggard as it had been once he got out of the Shrine of Resurrection. His eyes however, still looked weary.
His blue tunic was nowhere to be found. "I see…" Link mumbled to himself as he made his way outside of the military training grounds. As he looked around, he got an eerie feeling. Is this really a different timeline? From what he could recall 100 years ago, everything pretty much looked the same.
"If everything's the same, I know where the ancient Sheikah technology is stored, I can estimate how much time I have in accordance to how much of the ancient technology is in our possession." Link thought to himself as he tried to keep a low profile as he came upon the castle.
"Pfft. Did you think it would be that easy?!" A familiar twinkling, ethereal voice called out, echoing in his head.
It took everything in Link to not have an outward reaction. Stay calm, stay calm, STAY CALM! Link changed directions and made his way inside the castle through a secret passageway. When he made it inside and closed the stone wall he was enveloped in darkness.
What is happening?! Link took the time to take some deep breaths. No way did he imagine that, it was too clear and vivid. The panic he was beginning to feel made his chest hurt where his new marking was. He could take things as they came but even this was a little too much! He didn't realize how he had known where this secret passage even was.
"Of course you didn't imagine it! How dare you!" The twinkling voice said annoyed.
Link flinched. He didn't sign up for some seemingly omnipotent being to have access to his private thoughts!
Suddenly, the dark corridor he was in became illuminated. A small, purple light appeared in front Link's face. "So this is the thanks I get for helping!" The voice said annoyed.
Link noticed that voice was no longer disembodied. Fairy! He knew better than anyone how… eccentric fairies could be. He shuddered as he remembered all the Great Fairies kissing and grabbing him.
He had never seen such a small fairy making such a ruckus.
"Hey! I may be small but Hylia knows I'm stronger than you!" The twinkling voice remarked.
Oops.
"Why did you bring me here?" Link asked out loud, preferring some semblance of a normal conversation after the shock he just experienced.
"Knight, the great goddesses of this land have been locked in a dance with pure evil for countless millennia." The little light, no bigger than a firefly, circled his head. "This endless battle has brought forth countless incarnations of heroes and princesses to keep evil at bay." The little fairy continued explaining.
"However, because of this endless struggle there has been irrevocable change. Different timelines and dimensions have been formed and due to that both sides have experienced victory and defeat." The little fairy stopped in front of Link's face once more. "And some timelines even experienced both."
Link bowed his head, not wanting to relive his failure.
"I've brought you here, knight, because in my timeline our hero doesn't seem to exist, and the signs of the Calamity are here. I searched for potential heroes and you were the perfect match." That made Link lift his head in shock.
"Not only are our timelines practically the same, but also you have already defeated the impending Calamity in your timeline! We both have something to gain!" The fairy moved in large circles excitedly.
Link felt like he got hit by a spiked Moblin club at full force. The ancient legends.. the triforce! The throbbing pain he felt on his chest due to the mark became more noticeable.
The legends were obviously true, but Link never imagined just how true they were. For him they were like fairytales… incarnations, different timelines and the like didn't seem possible.
It was strange knowing about these legends but not knowing much about himself. It was eerie, he was the hero of legend but he just felt like a regular young man with a strong sense of duty that got dealt a bad hand.
"What about the champions? I didn't defeat the Calamity on my own." Link inquired with the fairy, trying to snap out of his existential dilemma.
The fairy stopped moving for a few moments before flying in front of Link's face again. "Hmph! I reveal this incredible truth to a pipsqueak like you and all you can think about is your girlfriend?!" The fairy stated, clearly annoyed.
"Wha- girlfriend?! I really do need their help! And who's the pipsqueak?!" Now it was Link's turn to be annoyed.
The small fairy sighed. "I already told you, knight, the ones that aided you are no longer available."
"Why? What do you mean?"
"They don't exist in this timeline."
\/
Link couldn't believe it.
The chamber where the Sheikah technology was stored didn't even exist. It was a secret library instead that only contained books on the concepts of the ancient technology.
"The individuals you know as your 'champions' still exist, but fate has not brought them together.' Link recalled what the small fairy had told him.
He hadn't wanted to admit how horrendously scared he had felt when the fairy spoke like it was his friends that didn't exist. That damn fairy! It purposely had worded it in a way that would make him misconstrue what it said.
The thing is, however… the fairy hadn't lied necessarily. It seemed like there was no proof of the divine beasts and the guardians in this timeline. He was also surprised at the lack of anything Sheikah related.
" It doesn't make any sense!" Link thought to himself with a sigh. How were things so similar but so different?
"I told you it wasn't going to be that easy!" The little fairy spoke directly into Link's ear.
"Didn't I ask you not to be in my head?" Link sighed again, as he put another book down.
"I wasn't!" The fairy circled around his torso. "Your exasperated sigh said enough."
Link decided to head out in case anyone decided to pop up, if he made a ruckus here it would be troublesome.
Making his way back to the military training grounds, he headed for the mess hall. Many of the soldiers and knights watched in astonishment - and a little fear - at all the food Link prepared and was gulping down. Man, was I starved!
After a filling breakfast he made his way back into the barracks. Link stripped off his armor and put on regular Hylian traveler wear. He took a soldier's bow and a dozen arrows, a knight's sword, a shield, and finally a horse. It was remarkably easy to come and go as one pleased. Realizing this, Link couldn't help but feel a little resentment in his heart, remembering how little freedom he had as a knight 100 years ago.
Link began making his way north, towards the Great Hyrule Forest. He figured if he couldn't find any signs of the Shiekah, he could at least seek out the Great Deku Tree and retrieve this timeline's Master Sword.
As soon as he had made it to the threshold of the Korok Forest, Link could immediately tell something was wrong. He dismounted his horse and went deeper into the forest on foot.
~*~