"Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared. Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered. You know this magic...It is the dark power you seek...the Fused Shadow."
-ancient Light Spirit, Lanayru
Chapter Six: Disturbing Shifts
Eight years ago, Snowpeak Mountains, ravine...
"AAH!"
Oni, after hearing an explosion followed by a child's scream, stood up from his small campfire and looked east. It came from the direction near the ice caverns. Thinking the worse, the black-clad young man rushed towards the scream only to find a horrifying sight. A small boy lay motionless near a large boulder in the snow.
The boy's matted, blonde hair was soaked in red liquid that Oni could only suspect was blood. The nearby boulder had traces of it and the young man figured that the boy had hit his head. Oni came closer and noticed that the child was still breathing.
"He's still alive?" he asked himself.
Not wanting the boy to bleed out, Oni knelt down to the child's level and checked his head wound. Located at his forehead and looking rather horrible, the wound bled profusely. Oni tore a piece of his black cloak and wrapped the cloth as carefully as he could on the wound. He did that in the hope that the bleeding would stop since he had no healing items or abilities.
"He's over here!"
Oni ran from the scene, not wanting to draw unwanted suspicion. He hid behind a pine tree far enough from the child, but close enough to see what would happen next. A group of people on horseback appeared with two small children. The silver armor they wore had Oni figure that they were knights, but he wondered where they came from.
"Link? Link!" a woman wearing silver armor over clothes of emerald hue screamed.
She jumped off her horse, grabbed the unconscious child, and turned to her comrades. A man, with golden hair similar to the woman's, said to the woman, "Let me, Lydia. My horse can ride to the village faster."
"Okay. Please hurry, Sigmund!" Lydia told him.
The man nodded, climbing onto his chocolate-hued horse with the unconscious Link in tow. With a cry and a kick in the horse's sides, the knight took off. Once he was out of sight, one of the children asked, "Um, Mrs. Nodor...what was that on Link's head?"
"I believe that someone tried to help him, Pipit," Lydia said to the child.
"Well, that's enough chatter for now. We must return to Aboda immediately," one of the older group members told her.
Lydia nodded, looking very worried. She climbed back onto her white horse and the party rode off, heading up the mountain.
After their departure, Oni came out of his hiding spot. He really hoped that the child would be okay. But, something bothered him.
Lydia and Sigmund, despite his never meeting them before, seemed familiar. He recognized their voices and a feeling of fear crept up in his heart.
A tall, pale-skinned, scantily clad teenage girl in all black stood in a dimly lit room, bowing before someone. Her long, red hair ran down to her back and obscured much of her face. Bowing next to her was another teen, wearing a blue and white leotard. Similar to the pale-skinned one, the lower part of her face was obscured by a white mask. Blonde hair poked out from a white turban and red eyes stared at the person in front of the pair.
The ruby-eyed teens stood up straight after hearing the person sitting in darkness move. The figure, male, said to the girls, "Well, it seems that there's trouble stirring in the mountains."
"What kind of trouble? And why did you call us, milord?" the blue leotard-wearing teen asked.
"I was getting to that, Sheik! Now, as I was saying, this trouble is something that threatens to derail everything that the empire has worked hard for," the man said.
"Uh...like what?" the scantily clad teen asked.
The man was irate and yelled, "Midna, if you two would stop interrupting me, then I would be able to quickly answer your questions!"
The teen, Midna, shrugged her shoulders and the man continued.
"You two were about...Well, you two were just babies the last time bells large and small rang within the temples around the world...with no one there to ring them," the man said.
"Wait, what?" Sheik asked.
"I remember that day."
A man of imposing stature jumped from the ceiling, landing rather gracefully. He turned to Midna and Sheik, staring at them with his piercing, yellow eyes.
"Hi, Byrne," Midna said cordially.
"Hey..." Byrne muttered.
The trio turned back to their superior and the man obscured in darkness asked the newcomer, "Byrne, you were how old when those bells rang?"
"It was fifteen years ago and I was about six," Byrne replied.
"And you were living where?" the figure asked.
"I was living in the village of Lokomo, on the isle of Mercay in the southern seas of the empire," Byrne told him.
The figure seemed pleased and said, "Well, at least someone else remembers that dreaded day."
"Pardon me, but what was so 'dreaded' about that particular day? It was just bells ringing," Sheik asked.
"That was the day that the reincarnated, traitorous 'Kingslayer' was born. Whenever the man is reborn, bells in the many temples around the world begin to ring without the aid of the wind, people, or even automatons," the figure told her.
Midna remembered the many tales she heard about him. Apparently, he betrayed the great saintess of the Twili, Princess Midna, by attacking her and going alone after the first Hyrulian Emperor, Ganondorf II. She tried to stop him, but he didn't listen and attacked the emperor and was killed for treason.
"But, why would he come back?" Midna asked her superior.
The man sighed and said, "Haven't you been paying attention in Lady Veran's classes? The 'Kingslayer's' spirit reincarnates throughout the ages, wishing to complete the task that was given to its original. But it usually can't as people like us and other forces stop him from destroying the empire."
"And if the empire's destroyed, we'll be out of jobs, the people will panic, civil war will rage and the apocalypse will be eminent," Byrne told Midna.
"So, your mission will be to destroy the reincarnation boy before he comes storming into Hyrule City. And you are to arrest any who would aid him," their superior said.
"Understood," Sheik and Byrne said, holding a hand to their hearts and bowing.
Midna felt a bit of worry as she had never thought her training was to assassinate someone she didn't know. Especially someone that was potentially innocent. She looked to Byrne and Sheik, but noticed their rather unconcerned expressions. Unnerved, the young Twili hoped that she wouldn't be the one to do the deed as she had personal reasons for taking up the assassination arts.
Aboda Village, Nodor household, attic...
Oni jolted awake as he had a nightmare. He could barely remember it as what he had seen was mainly fuzzy. The only thing he could remember was the sounds of horrified screams, massive amounts of slaughter, and maniacal laughter.
Not wanting to return to sleep as he feared that the nightmares would return, Oni laid awake on his bed, looking up at the wooden ceiling. He then turned his attention to the rather small, but quaint crawlspace for a room. Ever since he was allowed to stay with the Nodors, Oni began sprucing the attic space up, making it more suitable for sleeping.
He had sorted out the many small things that the family had placed up there for storage, putting books in one corner and several boxes in the other corners. The young man also found an empty dresser he could use, setting it up along the wall closest to the sole window in the room. Oni didn't really know what to do with it, as he only had that one set of clothes, the very clothes that he wore for gods-know-how-long.
A mattress served as his bed and a flimsy bedsheet provided a covering. It did little to keep him from getting cold in the drafty room, but he thought it was better than sleeping outside in the snow. Next to his bed on the bare wood floor were the black boots that he had worn for as long as he could remember.
After taking in just how sparse his "room" was, Oni sighed, rubbed a hand in his jet-black hair, and began wondering about his past. He could never get anything from the many nightmares he had, only fuzzy images and the sounds of horrifying cackles. The only thing that he "remembered" was the name "Oni" and being called a "monster" by a Sheikah woman that attacked him a week ago.
He didn't get why she would call him that. He felt, Oni thought, that he was clearly a human being. The young man just couldn't remember which tribe he was from.
'With a name like "Oni", I could be a Sheikah...But I got black hair and white skin like a Twili, so...' he thought.
The sound of a loud thud snapped Oni out of his thoughts. Remembering that his room was above Link's, he could only think of the worse. With worry, the young man jumped out of bed, running down the stairs in bare feet and opening the door. As he did, he nearly hit one of Link's little sisters, Aryll.
"What's going on?" she yawned.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Oni told her.
The duo spotted Link's bedroom door opening and Aryll tried to pull Oni out of her brother's line of sight. She couldn't get him to budge no matter how hard she tried to pull his arm.
'What the...?' Oni thought.
He saw Link stumble out of his room, looking around the hall in confusion. Aryll hid behind the dark-haired young man and peeked out from behind him.
"Um...L-Link...? Are you okay? W-we heard a loud bump," Aryll asked.
Link turned to them and Oni saw a dazed expression in his...gold eyes, almost as if he was lost. Oni thought that the color was odd, remembering that the boy usually had sky-blue eyes.
In a small voice, Link asked the two, "Who...Who art thou?"
"What?" Aryll asked.
The dialect Link started speaking in was a strange one to Oni, yet it sounded familiar. Almost like a language he used to speak.
"Whither am I? How didst I cometh hither? Whither is this lodging?" Link asked, his accent changing with every word.
'Almost sounds like the old language...Uh...what?' Oni thought.
"Who...Who are you? Where's Link?" Aryll asked.
"How doth thee knoweth mine name? I nev'r toldeth thee mine name," Link said, sounding rather angry and regal at the same time.
'Oh crud...This isn't going well,' Oni thought.
To break the tension, Oni replied, "We are so sorry, sir. You look so much like her older brother that she blurted that out. And you kinda got his name too. Uh...um...so..."
Link stepped back and placed a hand on his forehead, as if pained. Moments later, he muttered in a clear, but not really in his voice, "What? What was that all about?"
Aryll's grip on Oni's arm became tighter and the young man could've sworn she was digging her nails into his skin.
"Um...Link? Is that you? The real you?" she asked.
Link turned his attention to the concerned duo and gave a sheepish smile. Oni figured that Link had recognized them and thought nothing of it. That is until Link said, "Um, I guess I should tell you that...um...my name's not Link. You've been calling me that for years."
"What...the...?" Oni started.
"What the heck are you talking about? Who are you?" Aryll yelled.
Her yelling awoke the entire household. Lydia's door opened, along with the doors to Aryll and Agitha's room and Granny Matilde's room. The other females of the home appeared, grumbling as their sleep cycle was interrupted.
"What is going on?" Lydia asked.
"Link's over here saying really weird stuff again! Like...Like...!" Aryll told her.
Annoyed as it was too early in the morning to question people, Lydia ordered everyone to return to bed. They did, but before Oni could, Granny Matilde pulled him to the side. The old grandmother had a stern look in her eyes and asked him, "Did you see it?"
"Uh...See what, ma'am?" Oni asked her.
"You know. Seeing it happen once is enough to disturb the mind," Granny Matilde said.
Oni figured that she was talking about the sudden change in Link's behavior and speech patterns. It was horrifying to see, as he had never seen someone's personality change that drastically and quickly. Or he couldn't really remember anyone doing that in front of him.
The old woman led him into the front room and the two sat on the couch. She sighed and said, "It's been like this for him since he was a child. He...had a falling accident when he was about seven, eight years old...Ever since he has had a hard time remembering things before that age, a terrible stuttering problem and..."
"And what?" Oni asked her.
"And several personalities fighting for control of his mind..." Granny Matilde replied, face incredibly sad.
She looked away from the young man and said, "Lydia and Sigmund, my son and the father of my grandchildren, they blamed themselves for what happened. That guilt drove Sigmund to find a doctor outside of the mountains. He left the village with a small entourage, taking his beloved horse with him along with a small band of soldiers."
Tears formed in her eyes and she said in a near whisper, "Nearly a day later, we received word that Sigmund and his entire group had been attacked by monsters in the southern region of the ice caves. Lydia and many of the soldiers stationed here at the time rushed to his aid. But it was too late. The monsters had...massacred his entire unit and his remains were never found."
The old woman began to cry and Oni placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to give some comfort.
"When Link found out, his already fragile psyche shattered. He developed a persona that hated any outsiders that lived or came to the village. Whenever 'he' appeared, he would look at the travelers who stopped here from time to time with disgust. He also began his attacks on the only full-blooded Gerudo in this village, Groose. Before the accident and Sigmund's death, Link treated him like a brother," Granny Matilde told Oni through her sobs.
"But...aren't they still friends?" Oni asked.
The woman kept sobbing and replied, "It's not the same as it was before. It's more like Groose is very cautious around Link. I don't blame him. He's terrified of my grandson. It's the same with Link's other friends, Karane and Pipit. And poor Aryll and Agitha. Aryll grew very cautious and protective of Link since their father died. Agitha, however, she...despises him. She tries to avoid her brother as much as she can, but...But I sense the dark fires of hate in her heart..."
Oni sighed, wondering how could things go so downhill for a person.
"They all used to be so close. But now, the majority of their conversations and activities with Link are done with caution. And they would constantly ask if he was 'in control' of himself," Granny Matilde added, sniffling as she calmed down.
Remembering what he had seen earlier, Oni asked her, "Well, Link...in that, er, 'mode'...seemed pretty friendly."
"That wasn't the one I was talking about. The one that you may have seen...calls itself 'Ismali'. The one I spoke of calls itself 'Nyx'," Granny Matilde said.
Oni was bewildered, not knowing that the guy really lost it. Afraid to ask, but did so anyone, Oni said, "Um...so...are there more?"
The old woman nodded and said, "I've seen another one. It calls itself 'Raven' and it is more...quiet and contemplating. And then you have others that call themselves 'Link', but they are not the Link that we know. Then, there's one that's very, very timid. He hasn't given his name yet as I believe he's too afraid to do so."
"With all this you're telling me, I should probably be taking notes right about now," Oni said.
A small smile crossed the woman's face.
"Well, it would do no good as there is no paper or pens nearby. Just remember this, Link's others cause him to do or say things that he normally wouldn't do. If he's more aggressive, then that means 'Nyx's' nearing the surface. If he's quieter than usual, then 'Raven' is near. And if he's friendlier..." Granny Matilde started.
Oni got it and added, "Then 'Ismali' is awake. Alright, I'll be careful then."
13 Nabooru 1015, 6th Era of Water...
"Oni! ONI-ONI-ONI-ONI!"
The dark-haired young man woke up, only to yelp and fall off of his mattress at the sight of a panicked Aryll. Agitha was near the stairs and said, "Aryll's panicking because she saw Link tearing the wallpaper off of his bedroom walls."
"What? Uh, shouldn't you tell your mother about this?" Oni asked.
"She's not here!" Aryll yelled, standing at his bedside.
"What about your grandmother?" Oni asked.
"Not here either. Can you please get out of bed and not be a lazy bum? It's already midday," Agitha said, barely showing emotion.
He did as requested, putting on his boots as he was still dressed. After readying himself, Aryll grabbed his arm and pulled him downstairs. Agitha followed behind, muttering things about Link's sudden change in persona.
The trio arrived at Link's room and Aryll kicked the door open. The sight that greeted them was a strange one. Link hummed an odd tune to himself and proceeded to rip the old wallpaper of horses and rolling, grassy hills off of the walls, revealing whitewashed stone. When he noticed their presence, Link turned and grinned.
"Oh, hey there!" he said, demeanor very friendly.
Remembering what Granny Matilde had told him, Oni cautiously asked the teen, "Link, if it is you, what are you doing?"
"Um...I'm taking off the wallpaper," "Link", or what seemed like him, replied.
"But why?" Aryll asked.
"Link" continued to tear more of the wallpaper, not really wanting to answer the question. Agitha, as if knowing what was happening, said, "'Ismali', when did you wake up?"
Aryll was confused and turned to Agitha, asking, "Who's 'Ismali'?"
"Link" turned his attention back to the trio and replied with a rather heavy, Gerudo-esque accent, "My name is 'Ismali'."
"Wha...? No, it's not! Your name's Link! Not some Gerudo…!" Aryll yelled.
Oni placed a hand on her shoulder and told her to calm herself. It didn't work, instead making her even more agitated. Agitha's nonchalant demeanor also added to Aryll's frustration.
"How can you guys be so calm at a time like this? Link's lost himself again and Granny and Mom are nowhere to be found! And...!" Aryll yelled.
"Ismali" rubbed the back of his neck and told her, "Eh, I'm sorry. I really don't know why I'm awake...again. But now that I'm awake, I can help out around here. Starting with this old wallpaper..."
He resumed his destruction of the ancient wallpaper. Aryll, not wanting to see it go, yelled, "No! Link likes that wallpaper! He'll get mad if it's gone!"
"Why?" "Ismali" asked her.
"Uh...because..." Aryll started.
Agitha shook her head and said, "The Link we knew would've gotten mad over it as he loved horses. The Link we know now could care less for it as he never kept up with it and his love for horses has waned greatly. The only horse that he's not terrified around is Epona."
"Yeah, but...That wallpaper can help bring back his memories," Aryll told her twin.
"Aryll, get over it. The Link we knew is gone, only to be replaced by a coward that got Dad killed! So, why on the gods' snow-covered earth would you think that some crusty old wallpaper will bring him back?" Agitha asked very harshly.
Aryll couldn't answer her and Agitha continued her tirade.
"The old Link and his memories before the accident are gone, never to return. So, it's best that we forget everything we knew about him and accept how he is now: a stuttering, cowardly amnesiac that just so happens to have a personality disorder. And he'll never get his memories back, so stop hoping that he will," Agitha said.
"But...he...still could...He still may have a chance to..." Aryll said, nearly in tears.
Agitha shook her head and yelled, "Still have a chance to do what? Get his memories back and be 'normal' again? Well, that's not going to happen. There's no miracle cure for it because our cowardly brother doesn't want to be cured! So, forget it, Aryll!"
Aryll burst into tears, running away and out of the home. Oni turned to the still-fuming Agitha and told her, "That was really..."
"Shut it! You know nothing! And why are you still here anyway? You're supposed to be gone from this village!" Agitha yelled.
She ran into her room, slamming and locking it behind her. "Ismali" looked around and muttered, "Well, that was awkward. And loud..."
The alter ego was finished with his work and grinned. He clasped his hands together and said, "Now I need to get some paint. I kinda want tan and red, but..."
Oni was a bit disturbed by his behavior and asked, "Um...Who are you, really? I know that you're not Link."
"Ismali" smiled and said, "I really did say that my name's 'Ismali'. It's in the desert nomad language and means 'first-born'."
"So, you're a 'desert nomad'?" Oni questioned, remembering that the Gerudo who lived in the western deserts of the empire and Samasa Desert of Holodrum called themselves that.
"Ismali" nodded and asked him, "Do you think that those colors would work?"
"Um, well I was thinking that you should change the room based on what Link would like. He is an avid fan of horses," Oni said, telling a half-truth.
"Ismali" nodded and yelled excitedly, "I got it!"
Moments later, he pushed Oni away and yelled, "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
"Wh-What? Why?" Oni asked.
"It's a surprise. So, out!" "Ismali" yelled.
He reentered Link's room, slamming the door shut. The sound of it locking was heard and Oni shrugged, going about his business.
Three days later, 16 Nabooru 1015, 6th Era of Water...
"So, Link's been locked in his room for the past three days? With no food or water?" Link's friend, Pipit, asked.
The three friends of Link sat in the front room of the Nodor's home and listened intently to Aryll's plight. Also in attendance were Granny Matilde, Elder Sahasrahla, Elder Aginah, Lady Umma, and Lydia. They spoke about the past few days' events and wondered why Link would lock himself in his room. As they did, Oni listened in from the house's kitchen, making a pot of stew.
"So, no one's been able to get it?" Karane asked.
"No. He locked and barred his room shut. And he doesn't respond when you call out to him," Aryll cried.
Granny Matilde sighed loudly and said, "It is getting worse..."
"Almost as if the 'others' are fighting for complete control," Elder Aginah added.
"'Others'?" Pipit asked.
Groose was the one to reply, saying, "Well...uh...How do I explain...?"
"You'll do no such thing. Remembered what happened the last time you said something," Elder Aginah bellowed.
Agitha scoffed and said, "It's not like it'll change anything. Everyone in the village knows that there's something wrong with Link. That's why most of them avoid him like the plague. Especially after what happened two years ago."
"What do you mean?" Karane asked.
"No, Agitha!" Granny Matilde yelled.
Agitha seemed to have ignored them, due to malicious intent or lack of caring, Oni didn't know. She simply told the group, "Link has multiple personalities. He never had a bipolar disorder."
Silence filled the adjacent room and Oni could've sworn that the silence would've allowed him to hear a pin drop. Moments later, the sounds of bewildered cries were heard.
"What?" Pipit yelled.
"He's a 'schizo'?" Karane asked.
"Schizophrenia has nothing to do with Link's mental state. He has 'dissociative identity disorder', meaning that the trauma of that fall and the loss of his memories were so great that he created 'others' to cope," Elder Sahasrahla explained.
Lydia, not convinced, asked her mother-in-law, "Are you all sure that he's just not...um...?"
"He's not demon-possessed, I can assure you," Elder Aginah replied.
"Are you sure? 'Cause that 'Nyx' guy really hates me 'cause I'm Gerudo," Groose said.
"That would explain why Link would glare at me every time that 'demon' shows up. He probably thinks I'm Gerudo too," Karane said.
"But you're a 'half-breed'," Agitha said.
Karane muttered darkly, "I really hate that term..."
"I don't think he's possessed by the darkness as he hasn't shown much tendencies towards it. If he was, we would have to destroy him for the safety of our village," Elder Sahasrahla told everyone.
"And the 'others' aren't as racist or harbor hateful intent," Lady Umma added.
Oni turned his attention back to the stew of reekfish, cheese, and vegetables...to which he could've sworn he had eaten or at least helped someone make it before. It nearly boiled over and he used a wooden spoon to quickly stir the contents. Once it went back to its simmer, Oni listened once more as the group discussed Link's mental state.
"I'm afraid to ask, but...what are the other 'others'?" Karane asked.
"The first calls itself 'Raven' and it's very quiet, always thinking, and very soft-spoken," Granny Matilde answered.
"The second 'other' is 'Nyx' and it's the violent, racist, and really, REALLY mean one," Aryll added.
"The third is..." Agitha started.
The door to Link's room opened just as Oni had finished making the stew. Link, grinning widely, rushed to Oni's side and announced in a very childlike manner, "My business...is done!"
"Huh? Link?" Karane called out.
Oni took the pot off of the small, wood-fueled stove and entered the front room with Link, or what seemed to be a more friendly version of him, behind him. The group looked at Oni and quickly turned their attention to Link. Aryll was the first to ask, "Link, are you...?"
"I really thought I told you that Link's not my name. It's 'Ismali'," "Link", or "Ismali", told her.
Groose and Karane's eyes went wide and the Gerudo teen said, "Wait, 'Ismali'? Like the Hero of Koholint, 'Ismali Salamand'?"
"Who?" everyone, with the exception of "Ismali" and the elders, asked.
"Ismali" shrugged and Oni thought that maybe the persona had amnesia. Elder Sahasrahla furrowed his brow and muttered, "It is as I feared. Elder Matilde, Aginah and Umma, gather the elders for an emergency meeting."
He left the home and was followed by Elder Aginah and Lady Umma. Granny Matilde turned to the others and said, "I'll see you all in a little bit."
The old woman took her leave and "Ismali" took the liberty to announce again about his masterpiece. Lydia wasn't having it and yelled, holding out a small trinket with a triangle pendant hanging from it, "Leave my son's body now, demon!"
She put the pendant on his forehead and "Ismali" stared at her, seemingly confused.
"Uh...What?" he asked.
"Don't play dumb! Get out of my son's head now!" she yelled.
"Uh...Mom...I don't think..." Aryll started.
Lydia shushed her and Oni thought that the scene was very odd. He didn't really know if such things existed, due to his amnesia. But he wouldn't be surprised if they did, due to what he could remember about the nature of their world.
"Ismali" grabbed the pendant, causing Link's mother to stumble back. He smiled and told her, "I know what this is. It's the 'Triforce', right?"
Lydia nodded slowly and the alter-ego tossed the necklace back to her.
"Anyway, I really want to show you guys what I did! C'mon!" "Ismali" said, grabbing Karane's arm and leading her to the back.
The others, out of fear, followed behind. Oni did the same and his jaw dropped at the sight of Link's room.
Since "Hasan" had ripped all the wallpaper off the bedroom's walls, he took the liberty of painting them. What he had painted were images of a castle, mountains, grassy plains, and people that oddly looked like knights wearing green, red, blue, and purple, riding on horseback. On the ceiling were the images of a blue sky, clouds, and the sun. In its center was the Triforce.
Shocked, Lydia asked, "You...did all this?"
"Uh huh!" "Ismali" said, very proud of himself.
"Where did you get all the paint, man?" Groose asked.
"I bought it," "Ismali" answered.
"With what money?" Agitha asked.
"With 'Ravio's' money. It was a bag of rupees he hid under the bed," "Ismali" stated plainly.
With that, everyone became suspicious of the persona and stared.
"What?" he asked.
"Who's 'Ravio'?" Lydia asked.
"Oh. I just learned about him two days ago. He wrote about himself in this," "Ismali" said, going to Link's desk and pulling out a journal. Lydia snatched it out of his hands and read one of the passages. Her hands had started to tremble and she passed the book off to Agitha.
Not paying any attention, "Ismali" asked, "Do you think that Link will like it? If he likes horses that much, then he should like those old battle scenes and stuff in those old storybooks."
Aryll gave a weak smile and told him, "Yes. He'll like it. I'm sure of it."
The persona suddenly became very tired and said, "I really hope so. I...put...three days of… work...into...it."
He collapsed in the girl's arms and nearly knocked her over. Disturbed, Pipit elected to go. Karane seconded the motion and Groose led the two out. Moments later, Link jolted awake and glanced around in fright.
The somewhat mute teen's attention turned to the painted images on the walls and asked, "W-What...i-is th-this?"
"Uh...should we tell him?" Oni asked Lydia.
The woman gave no reply, leaving immediately after the question was asked. Agitha, however, said, "I knew something like this was going to happen."
"No, you didn't," Aryll retorted.
"Yes, I did. I knew that sooner or later one of those 'others' was going to do something like this. Pretty soon, Link really won't be himself anymore," Agitha said, her outlook being very dreary.
That irked Aryll to her core and she bellowed, "Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?" Agitha asked.
"You always find a way to see the worst in a situation. You claim that you're just being a stoic, but you're just a 'Debbie Downer'!" Aryll yelled.
"Well, it's not my fault that I prefer to see the reality of situations instead of being in constant denial!" Agitha retorted.
"I'm not in denial! I just like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," Aryll said.
Her twin scoffed and came back with, "No, you're just a horrifically misguided idealist. Never seeing what's really going on and are totally out of touch with reality."
Aryll's jaw dropped at her sister's words. Glowering, the twin muttered, "At least I'm not a stupid, hateful pessimist..."
She released Link, who fell to the floor after losing his support and ran to her room in tears. Oni turned to Agitha and was going to say something when she yelled, "Don't say anything! Just don't! You don't know anything about our family! You're just an outsider looking in."
She also ran off, leaving the house and dropping Link's journal in the process. The house shook as she slammed the door behind herself in what felt like anger. Confused, Link turned to Oni and asked, "Wh-What...What...is g-going on?"
Oni didn't know what to say. He had just come face to face with one of the "others" and didn't really know how he should respond. He thought to just come out and say what had happened those past three days. But, if he did, then it could cause further harm to Link's psyche. On the other hand, if Link found out during a critical moment, he could become totally unstable. Seeing the situation as a lose-lose one, Oni picked up the journal off the ground and handed it to Link.
The teen snatched it up and looked as if his personal space had been invaded, which it was. Getting an idea, Oni told him, "We know about what is in that journal."
"W-We?" Link asked.
"Yes. Your mother, sisters, grandmother, friends, some of the village elders, and myself...We know about those...'others', the other 'people' that have been writing in the journal," Oni said, telling a bit of a fib as he had never read any of the passages.
"'O-Others'? L-Like w-what G-Groose had s-s-said?" Link asked.
'He told him about...?' Oni thought.
Link told him as best as he could through his constant stutters about how he had heard from Groose that one of the "others" called itself "Nyx". He also heard that the persona was very rude, saying things that Link would never say, and was aggressive towards others, especially towards Groose. After he was finished, Oni continued with his original idea. He just wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad one.
"Hmm...Maybe you should leave notes around your room to tell your 'others' what to do regarding certain...situations," Oni told him.
Link listened intently as if the young man's words would bring a cure to his fractured mind.
"Just put some notes on your walls or something, telling them what you're thinking at the time or what you want them to do. For example, you can thank Mr. 'Ismali' for this mural or you can tell that 'Nyx' to calm down with the blatant racism," Oni told him.
Link nodded, agreeing with Oni. Seeing that his words were received, the young man left Link to his own devices. But he couldn't help but feel that what he had said would come back to haunt him in the future. He really, really hoped that that wouldn't be the case.
So, Link officially knows about his other selves. Will Oni's words come back to truly haunt him? Or will what he said help Link in the long run? Will Aryll and Agitha ever reconcile? And just what are the elders worried about? Stay tuned and review.
-miano53