Two months after his fight with a giant scorpion in Egypt, Link stood, shivering, in the Alps with a boulder three times his size over his head. It was the largest almost round boulder he'd been able to find. If it was made of the granite he thought it was, the boulder should weigh over five hundred tons. Using his own strength it would have crushed him, but with the Golden Gauntlets it was simply… heavy. He'd been unable to find their limit, which he really wanted to do. He'd been more successful in other areas, though. Without the gauntlets, he'd capped out around fifteen tons, still far stronger than a human would've been. He'd been unable to really gauge specific numbers in running and reaction speeds (as he lacked a stopwatch or other equipment), but he had been able to prove to himself that those were superhuman as well.
He'd spent two weeks up here, hunting larger and larger boulders and testing various other limits. He'd jumped off of ledges humans would break legs or outright die from and only once had seriously hurt himself. The broken ankle had fully healed in three days and during the last day he'd been able to walk, if not really strain himself. He'd also found that he didn't get nearly as hungry if he didn't hurt himself and, predictably, his body metabolized food into that healing at incredible speed and efficiency. He suspected that if he'd had healthier food, or hadn't needed to ration as much as he did, he could've healed in even less time.
Unfortunately, he did need to head down soon, his food stores were running short, and he could feel a slight sense of urgency in that directional sense of where he needed to be. At the moment it pointed him southwards into Italy, so maybe his next destination would be Rome?
Maria Hill, agent of SHIELD, felt she had better things to do than tail Link. After that fiasco at the Valley of Kings, SHIELD had assigned her to track and observe the boy, but not yet engage. She had a team for the purpose, and even if she headed it this detail seemed pointless. After leaving Egypt, the odd kid had began walking around the entire Mediterranean sea on foot, he stopped to train once or twice a week with that sword of his, but in the long run she couldn't begin to guess his goal.
There had been a point where they'd lost him, they had footage of him pulling that red cape out from nowhere and vanishing underneath it. After that he hadn't left so much as a footprint. He'd reappeared about two weeks later at a town further along his way, whatever way that was, shopping for more food supplies. Since then he'd never used the cape again, but that had been a trying time. They still weren't sure how he'd become aware of them to want to vanish, and they'd confirmed only SHIELD knew anything about him, so it wasn't that someone else had spooked him.
Still, this mission didn't make any sense. It wasn't that he seemed unimportant or anything. This kid had just walked right through SHIELD security and opened a prestructure door. After studying all footage and forensic evidence from said prestructure, SHIELD had a small list of… inhuman traits they'd been able to guess at. Elf-ears, invisibility cloak, some form of storage that defied space (had he somehow discovered shrinking technology, even SHIELD couldn't replicate Pym Particles yet), superhuman strength (they had evidence he'd been pushing around the sandstone blocks in found in the prestructure), and incredible hearing (they'd learned this one from tailing him).
The problem was, she didn't understand why SHIELD just wanted to watch him. They could approach him or outright kidnap him at their leisure, so why wasn't one of those options her mission? Agent Hill was, however, willing to follow orders she didn't understand. Nobody got far in SHIELD without that skill. If they just wanted her to tail the superhuman child, that's what she'd do. Even if she's been doing it for months now.
Director Fury set down Agent Hill's latest report on Link. Nothing to add to Shield's file on him, really. Wherever he was going would probably tell them more, but they'd just have to wait to get that information. The boy was dangerous, but… maybe not in the 'kill him before it's too late' way. Hill had expressed again her belief that SHIELD should confront him in some way very soon, and it was easy to see why.
They'd learned his name by interviewing the people at the places he'd visited for supplies or to sell gold, and SHIELD now knew where he came from, which only made him more of a mystery. As far as they could tell, there was no way his records could be falsified this well and there were several people who could confirm everything about every detail of his life. Then one day he'd vanished during a family trip to Greece and reappeared in Egypt with a magic cape, knowledge of 'prestructures' that completely outclassed SHIELD's, unbelievable strength, a sword and shield on his back, and possibly the ability to solo a giant scorpion. He was powerful, they knew. And SHIELD had been forced to tackle people with technology or powers they didn't know the limits of more frequently than they'd like to admit, but they'd still come out on top in almost every case.
The part that made Director Nick Fury hold SHIELD back from making a move was the boy's pathing. Link was after something and, from the empty chests in the tomb, he'd found it. He'd walked all the way from Athens to Egypt to find it. Now he walked all the way to Italy, a place he'd been so much closer to at the time of his disappearance in Athens. It spoke of an order of operations the boy was following, of a specific mission SHIELD didn't have the first clue about. A goal they didn't know.
SHIELD was able to ascertain threats by judging two elements: goal and competence. An idiot could pull one over on the greatest minds if those minds didn't know what the idiot wanted. And a competent mind or body could accomplish the most impossible goals if nobody smarter or stronger stood in their way. At this point in time, SHIELD had no way of knowing Link's goal, or how competent he might be; only that he had a goal and that he had some level of competency. That made him one of the most dangerous people on the planet.
But there was another reason he held SHIELD back from confronting the boy: he also could turn out to be exactly the type of dangerous Fury was hoping for. Link wasn't the only one Fury hoped would turn out that way at the moment, but he was certainly the least… temperamental.
Link was slightly disappointed to learn Rome wasn't his next destination, but he supposed it was probably for the best. Those tails of his might actually make a move when he finally found… whatever it was he was traveling towards and he hoped that move, whatever it was, would be away from other people. The less eyes on him, the better. He didn't want to be put in the same… awkward situation he'd found with that forest village.
Honestly, he'd hoped he'd lost them for good when he used up his magic to get away to do that testing back in the Alps. But no, they'd popped back up in the next town he'd bought supplies from. The real question was why they'd started following him in the first place. They shouldn't be an Egyptian secret service, they'd followed him since Egypt sure, but they'd tracked him all the way into Italy without ever… doing anything. There wasn't any evil magic about them, so they weren't Ganondorf's. Were they some kind of conspiracy group? Link… doubted it. Even if such a thing could really exist, they should have made a move. Link didn't exactly want them to, but he just couldn't see why they hadn't.
He also didn't want to be the one to make a move. When he'd gained memories of past lives, he'd also learned the people he'd fought for millennia were dead, but he had decided to protect the planet's new inhabitants, humans, in their place. Especially since his ancient adversary clearly didn't care if the world was full of Hylians or humans. For now, Link really didn't have a better option than to ignore them, whoever they were.
He continued on this way south, feeling that beacon of magic calling out to him. Just where was he going next? If he concentrated on that beacon… maybe… at the bottom of Italy's 'boot'? He thought about the items he'd collected so far. Six powerful relics from the Hylian era: A Fire Rod, a Magic Cape, Golden Gauntlets, a Mirror Shield, an Eldin Earring, and one item he possessed no memories of. That last one was a multi-colored orb of unknown material. Link had, of course, tried to determine it's use. He'd poured magic into the thing, exposed it to multiple types of elemental energy (both magical and non-magical), and even tried to break the thing; all to no avail, so it simply stayed in his inventory.
Setting aside the mystery item, since he couldn't draw conclusions from a variable, the most likely item to be directly involved at this next location was the Eldin Earring, the reward he'd been given for killing the giant scorpion in the Valley of Kings. It made the most sense, even over the mystery orb. It protected Link from overheating and catching fire, magically snuffing out any flames on his body or clothes before they could do damage, at least in theory. Link had no idea what the limits of the gift would be, but he knew it would let him survive the heat of a volcano, if not the actual magma inside.
That was it. Italy and the islands around the Italian peninsula were full of volcanoes. Only one massive volcano had existed in Hyrule, though it's name had changed several times. Could one of these be Eldin Volcano? Or perhaps… all of them. Link could imagine it, the changing landscape as planet Earth underwent millions of years of seismic activity, external events like meteors, and other catastrophes finally collapsing Death Mountain. But that pressure wouldn't have just vanished. It would have made new outlets, dozens or even hundreds of them, poking holes in the earth's surface. But in all that… a Hylian enchanted temple or shrine might still exist. Hidden away where humans couldn't find it, and maybe even too buried to access even for Link.
It had been a stroke of luck that humans had twice uncovered the remains in the Valley of Kings, if a… fire temple or something similar was buried in one of the many volcanoes of the Mediterranean… there was no telling if Link could even access it. Of course, it was still possible, he would go and search. It might not have been luck that had made sure Link could get at the temple in Egypt. Someone had known what to leave him and where, and how to keep anyone but him from working out how to get at those things before he could.
Many… well actually all of his lives seemed to have worked like that. It spoke of… planning. In his first life it had been more obvious. A goddess risking everything on a single plan to stop an evil god from destroying everything she loved. But since then… not much had changed even though said goddess was no longer a resident of the heavens. He'd have dreams or hear a call to action. He'd be given a sword and a mission, and anything else he needed would be available if he just worked for it. True, he'd often have to accomplish the near impossible, both to get said items and even in using them, but the entire mission was the near impossible and he had always been given what he needed so that it wouldn't be fully impossible.
He shook his head, clearing it of thoughts that wouldn't help him. He needed to get to wherever he was going. His thoughts wandered to something, or rather, someone far more material for the duration of the day.
Two days later, Link stepped onto the docks of the island called Stromboli. He was so close to the point his senses were guiding him to that he could tell he was too high above it. He needed a way into the island, a way below sea level. His eyes quickly found the volcano's vent, the hole leading down into the earth's crust. Too dangerous, he knew and he filed that option away as a last resort.
Instead he focused on his directional sense again, looking for just how much of the island his goal encompassed. It was more difficult than he'd expected for, now that he was paying attention, there was more than just a sacred place on this island, but also a cursed space like the one he'd sensed at the poisoned forest. The two places were, unfortunately but also unsurprisingly, partially overlapping; like a vin diagram. Ganondorf had found this one and now it was a matter of finding his way inside and clearing him out.
The problem was that the cursed area was the only part that touched the surface, and that piece wasn't part of the overlap. So, possibly two known ways in, both apparently incredibly dangerous. There was a sacred area on the other side of the island that came… close to the surface though, perhaps a cave led to that point? Possibly three ways in and the best one was the least likely. Great.
He thought through all of this while moving through the town, heedless of people who tried to sell… whatever to him. He walked straight towards the edge of the town closest to the volcano's crater almost subconsciously. He just didn't want to be standing still and whatever he decided the faster he left the populated area the better.
Stromboli island only had a couple hundred people on it at any given point, almost all residents. The volcano did attract tourists, and people seemed to assume he was one of those, since his sword and shield were in his inventory, safely out of sight from those who would've gotten nervous. Still, his next destination was in an active volcano, and he knew how… fragile the difference between an active volcano and an erupting volcano could be. Ganondorf had already touched the island, so there was no telling if an eruption was inevitable or not, or even how violent an explosion would be.
And there was a more specific reason he needed to get away from people. When he'd focused and sensed the King of Evil's touch on the island, there had been more than the cursed area in the underground. Five powerful points of black magic were already converging on Link, one was extremely close, and had been following him since he'd arrived. He assumed the only reason the black-robed figure behind him hadn't attacked was because it wanted to wait for its fellows.
Link had three realistic options that he could see. The dumbest thing he could do would be to let the five converge and attack him. Even if he knew for certain he could take the five of them, which he did not, this option easily left the most room for error. It also allowed his tails to see him in action.
Second, he could attempt to fight them one by one. It certainly held more desirable fruit than fighting all five, but it still held the difficulty of five difficult battles back to back. It also still allowed his tails to watch him and these creatures in action.
Third, he could try to evade them. It would be difficult, especially with his magic almost completely drained. He only had a minute of time or maybe even less with the Magic Cape but the option continued his secrecy of his inhuman nature and had less risk of death. If he failed he'd simply be forced to fight them anyway. Though, he did have an edge: he could slowly refill his magic if he could get to the sacred ground hidden in the depths of the volcano.
He weighed his options carefully while keeping a close sense on that fact that he was running out of time to decide for himself. He chose to run. He took off at full speed, far beyond what a human would've been capable of, though he wasn't sure by how much. The shade behind him bolted forwards, likely thinking it had only now been discovered, but Link proved faster. His tails would see his speed and his pursuer, but nothing else.
Link outran the shadow creature and he could sense all five slow and begin a search. Ganondorf had no idea that Link could sense the King of Evil's touch, and probably couldn't sense Link or, at least, not through these puppets. Now he could easily evade them and work out how to get into the volcano.
When Link had darted off at great speed, Agent Hill thought her team had been discovered again. But, thankfully, that didn't appear to be the case, as evidenced by the fact that someone else entirely had tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to follow. Link must've been spooked by the dark robed figure, whoever it was.
"Measurements are back" one member of her team said, "He had made it up to 45mph before we lost sight of him. For reference, unaltered but well-trained humans can only reliably reach about 25mph."
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Another agent asked.
"That depends on a lot of factors we don't know yet" someone else replied.
Hill stayed silent. The dark robed figure had spooked Link. He'd outrun the thing, but hadn't fought it. They'd found the man and hadn't engaged, Hill was personally observing it now. It looked up at Hill and she saw under the hood. If she never did again it would be too soon and, for the moment, she was stunned into silence. She needed to report this, but her mind still reeled. She had this urge, an urge to find somewhere safe and hide there. She had to get away and safe from that thing.
The creature was still nearby, apparently searching for Link. Somewhere safe. Link had run from that monster. He, whom they knew to hide superhuman capabilities, had chosen to run rather than face down that… malevolence. Would anywhere be safe from such a creature? Her mind thought of a place, a small hidden room no-one had known of. She'd been a child when she'd found that place and she hadn't thought about it in years.
She needed to get there. She needed to- pain shot up her leg and snapped her out of it. She'd stepped on something sharp, she hadn't even realized she'd been moving. A few other agents were looking at her quizzically. Realization of what had happened crashed down on her.
"That dark robed guy, where is he?" She demanded.
"Uh, right over there, he still hasn't seen us, we don't think" someone answered.
"He saw me, we need to get away, it did something to my mind when I saw under the hood!"
The other agents moved instantly. They didn't question her, they wouldn't have questioned anyone who'd said the same in that instant. Questions came later, they were Shield. A hint of supernatural powers incited instant action and caution.
Two hours later, Link found a hot spring right over the sacred area closest to the surface and dived straight in.