~*~
Link could hear the sounds of monsters squealing and snorting. Adrenaline flashed through his body. With his sword on his left hand and torch on the right, he slowly began to follow the path to get inside the Korok forest.
'Why are there monsters all the way out here? They certainly stayed away last I remembered.' Link thought pensively to himself while staying on high alert. He could tell he was being watched.
Reaching the end of the maze, Link could only gasp in shock at what he saw.
The forest was dying. It's lush greenery replaced by dull brown. The once tall trees now a drooping brownish-grey. What happened?! Link noted sadly, that there were no little Koroks hiding out, being mischievous.
As he began to take a step further into the forest, a squeal of rage came from behind him. Link turned and narrowly missed being hit by a very spiked Bokoblin club. The monster squealed again, seemingly angry to have missed its target.
As the white colored monster went to attack again, it made the fatal mistake of opening itself up for attack. There! Link swung his sword forward and the squelching sound of his sword cutting through flesh and bone echoed in his ears.
Hurriedly making his way towards the center of the forest, Link noticed that the monster had grazed his temple.
Making it to the pedestal where an incredibly old, rusty sword was stuck, Link called out to the Deku Tree. "Great Deku Tree! Why is the land dying?! Where are the Shiekah?" Link loudly yelled.
A rainstorm of leaves began to fall as the Deku Tree moved to look upon the one who was calling him.
The mighty tree's voice sounded tired. "Young knight, great evil is upon us and it will soon be unleashed. Only the knight of legend can wield this sword, but perhaps you are the one I've been patiently waiting for."
"How has the Calamity been able to kill this sacred land?!" Link questioned, anger and fear mixing into his heart.
"If you manage to pull the sword, I will tell you all that I know, young knight." The great tree looked on, tiredly.
"Fine." Link walked towards the pedestal and put his left hand on the hilt of the rusty sword. Taking a deep breath in, Link jerked his arm up on the exhale. The sword was lifted up with ease. Thank Hylia!
Inspecting the sword, Link could tell it was the Master Sword due to its markings but he was shocked at its rusty state. He felt like if he swung it, it would break apart into thousands of pieces.
"Young knight, you are about to face an evil that has never been defeated. The goddesses themselves have been fighting this evil for countless millennia. It seems that he has been able to make his way back to the physical plane." The Deku Tree began, looking on at Link sadly. "If this evil is not defeated, it will cloak the world in darkness."
"How is Calamity Ganon already so strong? Even without the assistance of the Sheikah technology?" Link questioned. Nothing was adding up.
"The Sheikah, young knight, are nothing more than a legend here. Their ways of life have been gone for hundreds of centuries." The mighty tree looked even more crestfallen.
Link couldn't believe it. He was in an utter state of shock. His new marking was beginning to burn once again. "But… how? I don't understand.. How did the Calamity get so strong?!"
"...Young knight, the evil you will face is far stronger and more menacing than Calamity Ganon could ever hope to be."
"!" Did that mean that Calamity Ganon was not behind this?! Then…
"You must face the greatest evil of all. Demise." The Deku Tree's words felt like he was issuing a death sentence.
Link nearly fell to his knees. The world had been placed on his shoulders once again.
"Do not let Demise complete the Triforce. You must restore the Master Sword and complete the Triforce for yourself in order to be successful." The Deku Tree began closing its eyes, he was too weak to carry on the conversation any longer.
"How can I do that?!" Link asked, panicking when he noticed that his time with the mighty tree was over.
All he got in reply were the mighty tree's deep, slumbering breaths.
Link turned and ran back as fast as his legs could carry him. His heart was beginning to pound, he could feel the panic set deep into his heart. 'This is all wrong!' What in Hylia's name is happening?!'
Breaking out through the forest, Link dropped the rusty sword and immediately dove into the cold water surrounding the mysterious forest. After diving several yards, he let out a scream.
\/
Back on land, Link stared intensely at the rusty, useless sword, willing it to give him answers.
"What do I do now?" Link questioned out loud. He had felt fairly confident, but being thrown punch after punch he couldn't evade or block made him feel useless now. First the Shiekah did not even exist and now it turns out he must defeat DEMISE? How could he ever hope to accomplish such a task?
"Isn't it obvious?!" A familiar, twinkling voice called out next to his ear. "We do as the Deku Tree instructed!" The fairy circled around Link's head.
"Oh yeah? Then how do we begin to do what the Deku Tree said?" Link asked with a glare.
"Hmph! You're the one with the experience here!" The fairy angrily retorted.
'That pipsqueak is right. I need to see what I do have available to me.' Link thought to himself as he mounted his horse.
Making his way through the military grounds, Boneyard Bridge, and the watchtower, Link stopped when he arrived at Castle Town. Even though the sun had now set, there were still countless people going about their business.
On his ride there, Link had made a pretty crude plan. It's something at least.
He figured he could go visit Urbosa in Gerudo Town first. Urbosa's friendship with Zelda meant he could alert her, and Urbosa in turn would alert Zelda and the king. It was obvious that the Hylian royals hadn't entered the Korok forest in a while, and he had the decay of the forest as proof enough of what was to come. Then a real plan could be made when everyone could bring their heads together to help.
Link flinched thinking how much time that could take. He knew the easiest and most surefire way to get the ball rolling was to just present the Master Sword to the king and warn him outright. However, it would mean he would be stuck in the same situation as before. He needed all the freedom to travel as he could get in order to start completing the Triforce.
However, he was acutely aware that it would only be a matter of time before fate pulled him and Zelda together. No matter, she'll be the one to follow me this time around.
After all, Zelda wasn't the only princess he was going to watch over constantly. Mipha…
Link wanted nothing more than to go to the tranquil domain and see the red-finned Zora princess. He knew that even though this timeline's Mipha would not know him, he knew she would still provide him much needed comfort.
Link was taken out of his thoughts when a young couple walked hand in hand, laughing. He sighed. It would be so easy to just head to The Domain and sweep Mipha off her feet and bring her along with him now. The temptation was certainly great. 'I'll visit her once my business is done with Urbosa.' He tried to make a deal with himself.
With a sigh of resignation, Link pulled his horse in the direction of Gerudo Town.
He managed to ride all the way to what he knew to be the Outskirt stable, but here it was known as the Colosseum stable. He knew his poor horse must be tired and needed rest. Me too, pal. He sat outside by the fire.
Link was glad that knights did not have to pay to have their horses boarded because he didn't have a single rupee to his name. He sheepishly thought about how it had been when he first woke up, not too long ago. Link would just run around, collecting anything that he could eat or trade, and coming and going erratically. His strange behavior got him the nickname 'Wild Link' from many of the people he grew to know.
Thinking about his own timeline made him feel strangely homesick.
He suddenly flinched when he remembered how he had left. Link hoped Riju wasn't too worried. Had it really only been yesterday that he was with her? Stop. I have enough to worry about.
Link felt the hilt of the rusty sword between his fingers while looking up at the night sky. All the constellations he was familiar with were nowhere to be found.
"What in Hylia's name am I doing here?" He mumbled out loud to himself quietly, half expecting the answer to fall from the skies and onto his lap. No matter what way he looked at it, Link knew the path to victory was only going to be accomplished through sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears. Haven't I already bled, cried, and sacrificed enough?
Now looking towards the flames of the firepit, Link wondered how the fated heroes of legend before him handled the pressure of the world on their shoulders. He gripped the hilt of the rusty sword.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone clearing their throat. "Excuse me, mister?" A small voice called out to Link. It was a child no older than eight.
"Yes?" Link gave the child a small smile, encouraging her to say what she needed.
"My dad made too much food so I wanted to give this to you!" She beamed while holding out a plate with rice and seared meat.
"Thank you!" Link returned the big smile. He looked up to see a man and woman smiling in their direction, he nodded his thanks.
His stomach full and heart light, Link was ready for whatever may be thrown his way. This precious existence was worth fighting for. He prayed to Hylia to guide him and to take away the nightmares before he curled up by the fire to sleep.
\/
Waking up just as the sun started to rise, Link quickly got up and prepared for the rest of his journey to Gerudo Town. He knew that he would have to buy a woman's clothes in order to disguise himself, so he planned on finding some luminous stones and trading them.
As soon as he made it through the suspension bridge into the canyon pass, he kept his eyes peeled for ore. He was happy his horse could guide them while he searched.
'Jackpot.' It didn't take long if you knew where to look. With some luminous stones in his pocket he headed towards the Gerudo Desert Gateway, where the last stable on this side of Hyrule was located, ready for business.
"No."
"No, sorry."
"No can do."
Link sighed. He couldn't get anyone to part with their extra clothes! He had no choice but to hope that some Gerudo women were selling clothes at the oasis at reasonable prices. Leaving his horse and making the trek on foot, he arrived with his fingers crossed.
There was an older, curt Gerudo woman selling vai outfits, and they were on sale! Thank Hylia! He still ended up giving every luminous stone he had in his possession.
Quickly leaving the oasis, Link made his way towards the town. He suddenly felt nervous, Link hadn't seen Urbosa since…
Keeping focus, Link changed into his new clothes and made his way towards the gate of the town. His heart was pounding in his chest when he saw the guards. With a deep breath, he made his way towards the gate, ready for the unexpected.
~*~