There comes a time when Link finds himself strangely at ease when he's away from society and social cues. When he's allowed to do whatever he pleases, hunt for food, forage for berries and fish in any stream he likes.
He hasn't had much of a chance to immerse himself into the Wild since destroying Calamity Ganon, but the first day or so after careening into the Bottomless Pond in the southeast of Hyrule Field had been a great return to his old habits.
Link always believed that if he somehow retired, he'd retreat into the woods somewhere and never be seen again. It's freeing to live off the land and worry not about… people and their woes.
The only problem therein lies in leaving Zelda behind, which he couldn't do.
A pipe dream, nothing more. Something to fantasize, never act upon.
He knows where he is; Hyrule Field exists as a perfectly mapped entity within his brain, and getting lost is impossible—even without the Sheikah Slate.
So why is he avoiding the path back to Lookout Landing? Every road leads to the Citadel. It would have to be something he's doing purposefully to stay off track. Is he afraid? He said himself that he's fearless.
So why is it that he only ever stalks the outskirts of what he knows to be the patrolled lines of his soldiers? The very ones he trained and must be anxious to see their leader's safe return?
He is not anxious to see them. He dreads them—what they'll say, what they'll feel.
How can he face any of them? Their General left his post and disappeared for… goddess, he doesn't even know how long. He prays it wasn't another century.
Link had been careful about covering his tracks, so when he's roughly awoken by a metal boot to the gut, he flails about like a green recruit caught by a captain for sleeping during drills.
"Oi!" Link misses his face, busy holding his stomach from the pain. He hates this, the weakness. Before, a blow like that would have barely registered. "This here's Crown Land! Y'can't be sleepin' on our property like some vagrant!"
"Property?" Link grunts, finally raising his head to see who kicked him. The nerve which causes Link's eye to twitch. He takes in the visage of three… soldiers? Two men—both scruffy and a rough-looking woman who sneers down at him. He doesn't recognize them and knows every soldier under his command. They're all wearing the Loftwing Crest—his crest. "This is Hyrule Field. It's free land."
"Which—as of bill-938 of the Upheaval Act—is now the property of the Hyrule Military." The one with a mustache grouses before crouching down and glaring at Link as if he were some peon under his boot. "Y'got a problem with our system of governance?"
"You're goddamn right I do," Link snarls, pushing himself to his feet and standing as straight as possible. "Bring me to your superior. I have words for them."
The trio share a look before bursting out in laughter. Link stares at them, his eyes narrowing with every breath they take. Whatever brought about this lack of discipline in his army will be snuffed before this arrogance begins to fester.
"You wanna meet Captain Scorpis?" the woman inhales loudly, her laughter lingering. "Sure, why not? We'll take you to him."
Scorpis. Finally, a name Link remembers. He was a simple footman before he left Lookout Landing—a man who Link recalls as a bit of a fool. He had hoped to break that by giving a semblance of duty, but a lust for power evidently broke that buildup. Link never had him pegged for that, though. Scorpis isn't smart, but he never had the attitude of a tyrant.
How little do we know about the true face of the ones we see?
"Not before we shackle you, of course." One smiles devilishly. "After all, you could be a thief."
"I am no thief." Link passively holds out his arms, allowing them to do as they please. "But if you must."
"Good boy," The woman croons, leaning against the pommel of her sword. "We'll get to Lookout as soon as we can." She shares a look with each of her compatriots. "Might take a bit of a detour, though. Y'don't got a horse."
He grimaces at the sight of them, turning up his nose to their taunting.
—
Link continues to stand tall, bruised and battered as he is with his hands tightly bound in the chain shackles. The three soldiers had tied him to the back of their horses, riding up and down the trails of Hyrule Field for hours.
The Hero never complained, forcing himself to persevere through sheer willpower alone. He had fallen a few times, dragging through the dirt, but always picked himself up.
All that festered within him was rage. Is this how his soldiers act while he is absent? How many other citizens of Hyrule had they trussed up just like he is?
Someone will answer for these crimes. This is a clear violation of their Oathes.
Finally, the Citadel comes into view past the hill his
"Valin!" The soldier with the mustache calls to the gate of Lookout Landing. Another name Link doesn't recognize. "Open the gate! We got ourselves a guest."
"Huh?!" A man with a spear and an unpolished sallet pokes his head over the parapet. "Who's he?!"
Link could ask him the same question.
"Some vagrant wanting to meet Captain Scorpis," one speaks. Link doesn't care to figure out which one. "Open the gate, idiot."
Link cracks his neck as he watches the wooden drawbridge lower across the recently dug moat. He spies some bones in the murky water, monster bones. The walls are heavily scuffed and reinforced many times by recently cut lumber—stones are chipped, and arrowheads litter the wood beams lining the cobblestone.
Telltale signs that they've been under siege. That is not an excuse for their behaviour, however.
"Where do the Monsters come from?" Link asks aloud, breaking his silence for the first time since being 'escorted.'
"The Chasm 'neath the Castle," one of the soldiers—male—remarks. "Where have you been livin'? Under a rock?"
"Above, actually." A faint smirk stretches across Link's cheek. The soldiers sneer at the sight of it but don't comment any further. The gate fully lowers, and they pull him forward as they kick their horses' flank.
Knowing that an army of monsters emerges from beneath the Castle is a little worrying. Lookout Landing is so close in proximity that it doesn't shock him that they deal with sieges regularly, but as soon as he enters, the worry skyrockets to fear. No soldier is running drills, the emergency shelter is wide open, and the walls are manned by a skeleton crew.
Scorpis is losing his head for this lack of care.
From what Link can see, the Citadel has become a small village. Cloth lines are strung up across pillars, and the stable has been emptied to fit more barracks—horses roam the enclosed space behind the walls.
Irresponsible. This is less a military outpost and more a town. The community aspect is good, but lacking discipline drives Link up a tree with disappointment.
"Who's—" A woman he finally recognizes walks up, her spear looking worse for wear with decay riddling the steel with holes. How long has Link been away? "Oh, my Goddess. That's…!"
"Flaxel," Link hisses through clenched teeth. "Get me out of these chains and bring me to Scorpis." She does not move, and his patience snaps. "Now, Corporal!"
Her spear fumbles, nearly falling to the dirt as she jumps and tries to salute. Jerrin barely catches it and stomps before running over to him.
'Hey," the woman who took him prisoner steps forward. "Why're you giving her orders? You vagrant!"
Flaxel balks, her blue eyes narrowing before slamming her fist into the woman's helmet. It clatters against her skull, reverberating like a hollow drum as she falls into the flagstone pathway. "S-so sorry, General! I'll get you released, lickety-split!"
"General?" One of the men parrots. "Wha… G-General?"
"The Vacant General?" The other scruffy man whispers. "'Int he dead?"
Link ignores the jabber, giving Flaxel an appraising look. Her armour is much more well-kept than the others. The tabard is starched, the plate is polished, and her helmet is correctly positioned to her blonde skull.
"Temper, Corporal. How often will you let it get the better of you?"
She glances up sheepishly as she shakily tries to get the chains off his wrists. Link is patient; no need to stress her further. Her pouty lips are pulled down in a frown as she shifts her stare back and forth between his eyes and focuses on the shackles.
"You gave us a purpose, sire," Flaxel mutters lowly. "Anyone disrespecting you is disrespecting what you've built for each of us. Even if what we've become in your absence is far from what we were."
"What has become of Scorpis?" Link hisses. "Who allowed him to take command? The man is a fool."
The soldier looks up at him, confusion appearing for a second before she grimaces and hooks a key into its socket.
"The Princess herself gave the order," Flaxel whispers, leaning close to him as the chains fall into the dirt. Link's throat closes shut. "We thought you were the one who delegated her to do so, sir."
Zelda made the order? She never had any interest in the Military, holding herself against the idea entirely when he first brought up developing it.
"When?" Link asks, all business as Flaxel leads him to the garrison entrance where his office would be. "She disappeared when I did. Did she give you any idea where she would—"
"Linky!" The hero in question throws his head up at the call, seeing Purah flying through the air toward him. His eyes widen as she crashes into him, bringing them both to the ground. "I thought you died again! Where have you been?!"
"Purah, get off!" He shouts as she wraps herself like a bear around his lithe body. It's embarrassing, mainly because the toga he's wearing doesn't do much to cover his skin. It's improper. She should know better. "I-I'm married! You can't do this anymore!"
"I thought you died!" The researcher wails, choosing to ignore his complaints. "I've been stuck here for a month! They wouldn't let me leave to search for you!"
"A month?" His sweat turns to ice, and his struggle ceases. "I've been gone for that long?"
The woman sniffs, nodding her face into his shoulder. Link lets his head fall back into the dusty ground with a thud.
A month. A whole month.
He thought losing a century would be worse, but at least back then, he didn't have any memories of the people he left behind. Now, they're all here and have been waiting for him. The reality of which chills him to his core—that while he was gallivanting up in the sky or asleep, they've all been stuck with no knowledge of what the hell is going on.
"What happened, Link?" Purah asks, her face still buried in his chest. "I thought you died again."
He tightly grimaces, patting her back with his new hand. "Me too. Give me an hour, then meet me in my office." Link feels his brow furrow and his gaze harden to stone. "Stay in your room for now. I need to take the head of my stand-in."
Purah lifts herself. "It wasn't Scorpis' fault. The Princess—"
"He still allowed his soldiers to behave cruelly, and she has no command of the army. Never in my life would I have thought to see my military—wearing my crest," he stresses heavily, like the fact of them wearing his tabard is an insult. "Mistreating my citizens. This will not stand. I have an example to set."
—
"General, I-I was just—!" Scorpis falls onto Link's desk, scattering his open letters after a particularly hard blow to his face.
"These were private!" Link roars, pointing at the fallen leaves of paper. "You had no right to dig through my desk! You had no right to take command! Where is Hoz?!"
"The Castle!" Scorpis cries, whimpering from his place on the stone floor. "He-he was searching for you! Has been since you went missing, sir!"
Link stares in disgust at the man, shivering like a babe at his feet.
It feels as if he had walked into a Gleeok den.
His office is a mess, filled with hoarded treasure and rupees stripped off travellers as a 'tax.'
The word sends Link into a frenzy every time he hears it.
"You betrayed your Oath," Link steps over to the fallen soldier. "Betrayed your people. For what? Money?! Treasure?!"
"It's not for me!" Scorpis wails. "I-it's for the monsters! Giving them treasure is the only way we keep them from the gates!"
"I don't care what reason you have! We don't barter with animals!" Link seethes, gripping his hands against Scorpis' chest plate and shaking him like a doll. "We kill them! We fight to the last man! We protect the innocent. Never do we ever extort them! You damned coward!"
The man cries, tears pooling from his bagged eyes. Link can tell he's been run ragged, but that… doesn't excuse anything. He throws him back to the floor.
"You know the punishment." He growls, his hands balled tight as the fallen soldier cries harder. "Your head is forfeit,"
"No, sir! Please, I-I did it for the good of the Citadel! I'll do better with you here!"
"Don't beg," Link stares down at him, his face pure stone. "It's pathetic."
He turns away, back toward the door where Flaxel stands, joined by a squad of concerned-looking conscripts Link has yet to meet. Purah also stands behind them, against his wishes.
He didn't want her to see this.
"Bring him to the dungeons," Link grunts to Flaxel, the only one he knows. "Then, gather the soldiers. I need to make an announcement."
"Aye, sir!" The woman salutes before jerking her head to the conscripts. Scorpis wails as he's dragged away, his terrified voice echoing through the empty stone halls.
"Where's Zelda?" Link immediately shifts his stare to Purah as the soldiers leave earshot. "When was she last seen?"
"Uh," the woman jolts. "L-last week? Her appearance sent Hoz to the Castle to search for you. She told the Captain that you needed his help, so he's been prowling what's left of the Castle on the ground since then."
"One week is all it took for chaos to ensue," Link sighs. "Where did she go next? You must have seen her path."
Purah shrugs, throwing her arms out with the movement. "She just got up and disappeared. It doesn't help that there's a literal buttload of other problems in every province."
Link stays silent, digging through debris and garbage to find his goddamn bag.
She follows him around the room, squawking like a bird. "The Rito are facing a massive storm—they've got no food. Death Mountain closed itself to travellers; we have no idea what's happening there. The Zora are literally drowning in muck coming from the sky! And don't even get me started on the Gerudo!"
The hero continues his search, not offering an ounce of attention to her. Purah gets increasingly frustrated at his lack of response, so she stomps and throws her arms out as she bellows a final yell. "Kakariko is covered in debris from the upheaval! My ancestral home! I couldn't even go back there to see the damage! You aren't the only one with problems, y'know!"
That gets through to him as he pauses and finally looks at the researcher. She's panting, recatching her heaving breath from the out-of-character screech that left her mouth. Her tired eyes bore into the angry hero, shifting quickly to sympathy as she caught his feelings from his gaze alone.
"You aren't seriously going to execute him, are you?" Purah asks with worry, suddenly breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You just got back."
"It's my job." Link sighs, his face of stone cracking to gravelly morose as he pauses his frantic search for a second. "You saw what was happening. An example needs to be made. The men and women here went completely out of control."
"But killing a man for a stupid mistake?" Purah stresses. "That doesn't seem right."
"To Sheikah, maybe so." Link nods. "But we are not Sheikah. Scorpis cracked under the pressure of a position he never should have taken, but he did. The Oaths we take are a way of life; to break them is to spit on those who raised you. Death is the only repentance."
"That's ruthless and barbaric."
"To you." Link grunts. He does not continue the conversation. She wouldn't understand. Instead, he's focused on looking for the bag he had stashed in his office for rainy days. He throws apart his already torn-up space, his frustration reaching a precipice.
So when a chair refuses to stay propped up against the wall and flops right back to where he removed it, he loses control, picking it up and throwing it against a wall. Purah shouts in shock, flinching at the splinters from the furniture shattering to pieces. He sharply intakes a breath, biting his lip as he leans against the wood of his desk to calm himself.
"Link," Purah offers, but he doesn't respond. "Link." She firmly repeats. "Look at me. Please?"
He grunts in the affirmative, peering through the fringe of his hair into her desperate crimson eyes. She crouches down, looking up at him.
"Don't execute him."
Link negatively chuffs, shaking his head.
"Look at what it's doing to you! Judge and Jury was never your style."
The man shakes his head again, his wild untied hair flailing like water with the movement. Beastly, unkempt. Link looks like he had just emerged from the Wilderness, surviving with his bare hands and the clothes on his back.
Not to mention the strange tattoos littering his right arm and the… gauntlet?—she has no idea what to make of him now. He's very strange.
She waits for a response, but none comes. He reaches for a sword propped up in a corner after finding his bag and leaves.
Purah can only watch him go, stalking down the hall where Scorpis was dragged. She runs through the open door, stopping at the exit to yell. "You still gotta tell me what happened, Linky! I've seen that arm! Don't think I'll just let go of my curiosity!"
"She's right, you know." Mineru chimes from nowhere, probably his new arm. Link huffs, not deigning to answer as he stalks through the cobblestone hall. "All executing him will do is make them fear failure."
"It's all I know," Link sadly sighs. "When an Oath is broken, death is the only recompense."
"So change it," Mineru says like it's the simplest thing in the world. "You're the General, are you not? You don't genuinely believe he was fully at fault, after all."
…damn. So she can sense his thoughts, as well, huh?
"…No." Link forces out. "Scorpis is a fool, but he was never the type to do anything without being told to do so. He looked exhausted, overworked." A lull falls over his statements as he parses through his recollection. "Something or someone was forcing him to act like he did."
"Mm." Mineru hums. "What is your plan?"
He grimaces, clenching his fists as he walks towards the courtyard gate. "I haven't decided. But regardless, he still needs to be punished."
"Needless punishment breeds discontent,"
"It's not needless! There have to be consequences for those who fail in their duty!"
"By killing them?" He can feel Mineru narrowing her invisible eyes. "I thought you didn't want to be King. They're the ones that make that judgment."
He has no response to that. She's right—his previous General was also the King. He passed all judgment when it came to military and civil affairs. When an Oathbreaker came before his throne, he was the one who Judged. King Rhoam—Bosphoramus—was a Knight before catching the eye of Princess Hyla. He held all rights as General and King. King Rh—Bosphoramus was Link's inspiration regarding being a Knight of the Table.
Duty. Honour. Sacrifice.
The King had his faults, but the man exemplified each core tenant of the Table to a greater degree of service that bordered on fanaticism. He was everything Link wanted to be, but that was before he pulled out the Sword.
Everything was so much simpler then.
"Sacrifice entails performing an act I don't want to do." Link sighs. "I have a duty. My honour commands me to see it through."
He pauses at the door leading back to the courtyard, expecting a response from the Poe stuck in his arm. He's about to sigh and push through without another word, but Mineru surprises him.
"If anything, I can respect your drive. Having the ability to make a decision and stick to it is admirable. I only hope you don't come to regret it."
"Me neither," Link grunts, pushing open the gate where the fate of a man rests in his very hands.
—
"Let me pass," Link growls at the fool in filthy, decaying armour with purple underclothes.
The decayed weapons and armour he saw back in Lookout weren't because the soldiers were not taking care of their gear but from the Gloom itself latching onto the weapons and armour. It's a small comfort, knowing it isn't their fault. After all, a soldier's gear is meant to be their life.
But that doesn't excuse the man refusing him access to the Castle.
"Nah, nuh-uh." He shakes his stupid blonde head, making the soup ladle attached to his backpack clatter against a pot. "Can't do 'dat. Captain Hoz said, 'No one's allowed in the Castle 'till da General is found."
"And I already told you," Link groans, throwing his head back in frustration. "I am the General! Who the hell are you?!"
"Mm," the man gives Link a scrutinizing look. "Nah. Da General's taller d'en an oak, bigger den Deaf Mountain and carries a great blue sword. You're teeny, and the blade you got ain't blue."
"It's purple," Link grinds through his teeth. "And those attributes are greatly exaggerated."
"Ain't purple either, liar." He points at Link's regular knight's broadsword poking over his shoulder. "It's red!"
Patience—snaps like a thread. Link begins to draw his sword.
"Oh, it'll be blood red if you don't—!"
"Why are you wasting time with this idiot?" Mineru quickly interrupts, halting his rapid unsheathing of the blade on his back by freezing his arm.
Great, she can control it?
"Just go meet this Hoz fellow," she sighs. Link imagines her rubbing her eyes as if his actions annoyed her. "He's obviously looking for you, anyway. By meeting him, it'd be killing two birds with one stone."
He clicks his tongue, letting his arm fall limp at his side. With a final glare at the dumb man, Link turns away, huffing back toward the trail.
The entirety of the road he took with Zelda toward Hyrule Castle had entirely shifted with the change in topography caused by the Upheaval. There's a massive chasm with the same red fog leaking like a cloud of death—beckoning whoever deigns to get closer with ghostly wisps.
Hyrule Castle floats unmoving in the sky, like a beacon of doom with the fog tendrils gripping its flanks. He's brought back to the Calamity, the Sheikah's pillars shooting out from the ground to enclose Ganon within its sealing wall. They just barely worked. The constant cloud of Malice within the Castle walls looked almost exactly as it does now.
Did anything he did truly matter? Everything only got worse after his quest. Goddess, what was even the point?
Shaking his head, he walks the path that used to lead into the Sanctum, now halting suddenly at the second Gatehouse, where Zelda found the bomb flower. It all happened so fast. They were just here together.
He reaches the last gatehouse before the chasm threatens to swallow him whole. Link spies a few men peering down it but decides not to waste his time any further by interacting with more soldiers he has no recollection of. It seems even Hoz performed a conscription effort.
The realization of this only makes Link more irritated.
"Halt," An armoured man, similar to the stupid one he met earlier, holds out his metal palm. "This area is off… Hylia."
Finally.
"You know me?" Link asks, stalking closer to the wide-eyed guy standing straight and frozen. "Then are you going to try and stop me, too?"
"N-no, General." he shakes his ginger head, pointing to the top of the gatehouse. "Hoz is up—uh, up there."
"Captain Hoz," Link corrects, reaching the portcullis and using his arm to propel upward through the stone watchtower. The man lets out a yelp of shock, but Link pays him no further mind as he drives onward to the Captain of the Hour. Nobody stands in his way as he draws ever closer to the helmet-clad soldier Link personally put in charge of Lookout Landing.
He has a lot of explaining to do.
"Captain Hoz," The General grinds out with his back straight and hands clasped behind it. "Explain yourself and the situation at the Citadel, which you were placed in command."
He spins around, and the well-groomed man immediately falls to his knees when he realizes who called him out. His red brigandine is caked with dirt, signs to Link that he's been out in the Wild for an extended period of time.
"General!" Hoz wails at his feet. "I was so worried! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Yes," Link grimaces, feeling uncomfortable from the over-the-top reaction. He gives himself a shake, trying to refocus. "Uh, Captain, I require a report."
"Of course, General!" Hoz jumps to his feet, wiping his dripping nose and salutes with a stomp. "After the Upheaval, we faced an onslaught of enemy combatants spilling out from beneath the Castle. I… was forced to begin conscription procedures due to the lack of men at the Citadel,"
Ah, that makes… more sense than Link wanted it to. He hated the idea of forced conscription so much that he deluded himself into thinking it was because of a power play formed by the missing General and Princess. Of course, it was because of a lack of manpower. Link was the one to spread out his military to every garrison throughout the country.
"What of the Survey Team in Kakariko?" Link asks. "My squires?"
Hoz grimaces. "The supply lines have all been cut off by raining debris from the Upheaval. Entire roads and bridges have been swallowed by landslides, flooding and… worse. We haven't received so much as a letter from any village in the country, much less from the garrisons or forts."
"No couriers? Corporal Sigint is unmatched in his ability as a ranger."
"Nothing, sir." Hoz sighs. "Not even a whisper. With all the monsters roaming the countryside, we just can't know what's happening."
"Damn," Link curses, pacing around as he runs through scenarios in his head. Emotions getting the better of him, he whirls on the Captain. "And Scorpis? What gave you the bright idea to put him in charge of the Citadel? You know the man's a fool."
"Sir, he was never in charge," Hoz stresses. "I left him along with Flaxel and Herron at the Citadel with many new recruits to look for you. He was never in charge."
"That's not what I saw," Link growls. "The man was in my office, reading my letters, filled to the brim with levied treasure and rupees from Hyrulean travellers like a roving band of thugs. Explain, Captain."
Link glares darkly at the goateed man, who winces before a jolt of something etches across his visage. His head lowers, and his fists clench tight.
"The Gloom," Hoz shakes his head, a look of sombre realization overtaking his face. "It… does something to our psyche—already lost two men. I hadn't expected it to strike so soon, as today was meant to be my last day waiting for you; I meant to be back at the Citadel before long. Scorpis always had a weak mind, but for the Gloom to affect him so soon…"
His heart jumps to his throat, and Link stares in stark recollection of what Hoz says. This happened before. Why hadn't he expected this? Why had he immediately jumped to execution before looking at all the facts?
Warrior King. King. Fool. Idiot—
"Damnit!" Link shouts, throwing his hands up and turning away from the shocked Captain. He should have thought of that! Link forgot about what happened at Mabe, seeing with his own eyes what happened when people had come into contact with the Gloom for extended periods. The people at Mabe had only been infected for a day or two. Lookout Landing had a month.
He was ready to sentence a man to death for a mistake he hadn't in a sane mind committed. Scorpis is sick, forced to commit acts against his will by The Demon King.
"You didn't know." Mineru offers.
Yes, but he was still prepared to—
He sighs, turning back to the patiently waiting Hoz. "We must return to the Citadel. I have—"
The ground shakes suddenly, and a bright golden light threatens to blind him, forcing the General to cover his face with an arm. The moving land below him and his soldiers shifts, nearly knocking Link off his feet—suddenly, the light disappears. He lowers his hand, and his chest constricts.
Zelda. She's here, standing atop one of the towers, staring skyward at nothing when he follows her gaze. That dress or gown she wore in that vision billows in a silent wind.
It's beautiful.
"Zel… Zelda!" Link yells, pushing past the slowly stumbling Hoz, who falls right back onto the dirt. "Stay right there! I'm coming!"
He makes a mad dash towards the tower she stands atop and jumps onto the wall, clambering wherever his hands can gather purchase against the stones. Reaching the conical brick shingled roof takes him less than a second. He climbs like a Blupee escaping a greedy treasure hunter.
She… begins to float away like dust in the wind, never once looking back at him, no matter how many times he calls after her.
"Zelda, please!" Link cries, losing grip on one of the shingles that falls apart in his hands. "I'm sorry! Don't go!"
He's sorry he wasn't fast enough. He's sorry he couldn't be with her. He's sorry he let her fall—
She flies upward, disappearing into the clouds as he reaches out to her with his useless Zonai hand.
"Monsters!" Hoz calls. It sounds so far away. "Bokoblins! Lynels! They're all spilling out from the Chasm! Back to the Citadel! Tilar, take whoever's fast enough along with you to warn—"
Link's too distraught to listen further as time drags while his grip begins to fail against the stone steeple he holds.
Why didn't he use the UltraHand? Or… or Recall to stop her?
"Always," he sobs, tears spilling from his eyes as he loses grip on the roof and falls. "Too slow."
Damnit.
…
The comfort of slamming into the stone gatehouse knocks him unconscious.