Around noon of the next day, the away team returned to the Temple of Time. Link had conquered the last Shrine and had gained a power called Stasis, which could freeze objects in place for a short time. As a bonus, he had gotten a sledgehammer, which he had given to Edelgard. After that, they had hurried back to the Temple.

Link hadn't wanted to waste any time with the promise of the answers he wanted.

Claude met the seven of them at the Temple. "Want lunch?" he asked, pulling several plates of Gohma meat out of the Korok pouch, which seemed too small to hold that many.

Okay, Link could take a moment to eat first.

"How did you fit that many plates into that tiny bag?" Leonie asked.

"Get this, Hyrule has tiny tree people who can make bags that can hold nearly infinite amounts of stuff," Claude said. "Watch." He pulled a Boko Spear out of the pouch, which very clearly should not have been able to fit.

"...How?" Edelgard asked.

"Magic," Claude answered.

"Well...that's...useful," Edelgard said, still not quite believing her eyes.

"It gets better. Food doesn't spoil when it's in the pouch," Claude said. "We can take as much food with us as we need, and it won't weigh us down or go bad! This is the most useful thing we've acquired so far!"

Link looked at the bag. "That is useful."

"So, what did you find?" Claude asked.

"We have acquired swords and clothing," Ferdinand said. "And I believe we did find the treasures the old man wanted to see."

"You found clothes? Thank goodness, I've been getting tired of wearing my pajamas," Claude commented.

"If you can find a set in your size, help yourself," Edelgard said.

"Do you know where the old man is?" Link asked.

"Training our axe wielders," Claude told him. "Sword training was this morning."

"I need to talk to him," Link said.

"It'll have to wait," Claude said. "We actually do need this training, Link. You might be able to fight the monsters in Hyrule, but we aren't that experienced. We need training."

Link thought about this. "All right. I'll wait."

Edelgard removed the sledgehammer from her back. "Can I join?"

Four hours later, the old man had finished the training session, and Link wanted answers. "I think it's time you were honest with me."

"I think so as well," the old man said. "My name is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I am—was—the last king of Hyrule. A kingdom which no longer exists. Forgive my deception, but I was unsure whether your mind had recovered enough for the information. I am sorry. I see now that your mind is quite strong."

The old man was suddenly bathed in a strange ethereal green light, nearly blinding Link. When the light faded, the old man had changed. He no longer wore the old cloak, nor was his beard as bushy and unkempt. Instead, he wore a blue waistcoat with gold trim over a white doublet, white trousers, and a pair of black leather boots that floated a few inches above the ground. He wore a large belt buckle with a triangle pointed upwards with a smaller triangle pointed downwards within. His beard and hair were trimmed and neat in appearance, and he wore a golden crown upon his head. Though the bright light from earlier had faded, the old man—the king—still faintly glowed in the same light.

"Ghost!" Lysithea screamed.

"Calm yourself, child. I will not harm you," King Rhoam said. Lysithea wasn't listening and kept panicking. Marianne tried to calm her down, but to little success.

"Hmm. I'm sorry," King Rhoam said. "Perhaps I should have done that differently."

"I don't think it would have helped," Monica said. "Go on. We'll catch her up later."

"If you say so," King Rhoam said. "The Great Calamity was merciless. It devastated everything in its path, lo, a century ago." King Rhoam turned to face Link, his expression distant. "It was then that my life was taken from me. I have remained here ever since I died, in spirit form. I…did not know why for a long time. I assumed that, perhaps, it had been because of the royal family's connection to this place. Our history. My daughter, Zelda, she…eventually spoke to me."

"Zelda..." Link mused. "Was she the voice I heard when I woke?"

"You heard her as well?" King Rhoam asked. He calmed himself. "No, no. No distractions.

"I shall tell you what happened one hundred years ago, Link. Perhaps hearing of it shall awaken something within you.

"Many in the kingdom had long since forgotten any truth to the stories of Ganon. They were legends. Fairy tales. However, when I was a younger man, there was a mystic, a… fortune teller, who told me a prophecy. He told me that the signs of Ganon's resurrection were clear and that the power to oppose him lied dormant under the ground."

The king turned to Link. "I did not believe him at first," he said. "But there were… other things that convinced me of his legitimacy." He looked away. "He disappeared soon thereafter. I do not know what happened to him, nor where he came from." Link remained silent, and King Rhoam continued.

"We decided to heed the prophecy and began excavating large areas of land. It wasn't long before we discovered several ancient relics made by the hands of our distant ancestors. These relics, gods curse them, were giant machines piloted by warriors." His expression darkened, his ethereal hands clenching into tight fists. "We also discovered the Guardians. You likely saw them outside of the Temple. These mechanical creations were meant to be autonomous soldiers, created eons ago, to fight the Calamity Ganon.

"Our legends spoke of these, and the learned among us knew that there was some truth to those old legends. Those legends also spoke of a princess with a sacred power and her appointed knight, chosen by the sword of evil's bane—the sword that would seal the darkness. They, alone, had the power to battle and seal Ganon away.

"One hundred years ago, there was a princess set to inherit that sacred power, and a skilled knight at her side," King Rhoam said, looking to Link. He felt a shiver run down his spine. "It was clear that we were to follow our ancestors' path. So we selected four skilled individuals from across Hyrule, tasked with the duty of piloting the Divine Beasts. Mipha, the Zora; Daruk, the Goron; Urbosa, the Gerudo; Revali, the Rito. With the princess as their commander, we dubbed these pilots Champions—a name that would solidify their unique bond.

"The princess, her appointed knight, and the rest of the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon. They were so very close… But nay. Ganon was cunning, and he responded with a plan beyond our imagining.

"He appeared from deep beneath Hyrule Castle and seized control of the Divine Beasts and the Guardians that our people had spent so much time preparing for the purpose of battling him. He turned them against us." The king's expression grew bitter. Angry. His hands clenched into tight fists. "The Champions lost their lives. Most residing in the castle and the city around it did as well. The appointed knight was gravely wounded in defense of the princess." King Rhoam looked at Link. "You were gravely wounded."

Link stared right through the king as he almost remembered something from his unknown past. "What happened? Did...the princess. Did she survive?"

"She did," the king answered. "And she faced Ganon alone."

He looked at Link. "Do you remember?"

"I...I'm trying...I want to...but..." Link stammered and shook his head.

"I see," King Rhoam said. "You fought valiantly, but your fate took an unfortunate turn. You were taken to the Shrine of Resurrection deep in the bedrock of the Great Plateau. And here you stand now, revitalized, one hundred years later. The woman you spoke of—the words of guidance you have been hearing since you woke are from Princess Zelda herself.

"Even now, as she works to restrain Ganon from within Hyrule Castle, she seeks to speak with you, to call for your help. However, I fear that my daughter's power will soon be exhausted." The king's expression was grave. "The beast Ganon appears to press and fight her control more than ever now, and it has been many years since I last heard her voice. Once her power is gone, Ganon will freely regenerate himself and I am certain that nothing will stop him from killing Zelda and consuming our land."

The king fell silent for a time, bowing his head and closing his eyes, his expression incredibly pained. "Ultimately, I was unable to save my own kingdom. In fact, my mistakes may have even contributed to its downfall. I have no right to ask this of you—not after all that you have sacrificed already—but I am powerless here. You must save her, Link. Save my daughter. And do whatever you must to annihilate Ganon."

Link clenched his fists. "Okay."

"Okay?" Claude asked. "I mean, if that's what you want to do, fine, but you don't even need to think about this?"

"No, I don't think I do," Link said. "I...I don't know how to explain it, but this feels right somehow. It's something I need to do." He looked at the three house leaders. "If you want to stay behind, I'll understand."

Dimitri looked at him. "I don't know if we will ever make it home," he admitted. "Our future looks more uncertain by the hour. But I do know that those murdered by the Great Calamity deserve to be avenged. I will aid you in your quest."

"Life is short," Edelgard told Link. "I have no intention of wasting mine. Preventing Calamity Ganon from being unleashed upon the world may not be what I imagined I would be doing with it, but it's a worthwhile goal. I will help you see it through."

Claude looked at his fellow house leaders. "We're really doing this, huh?" he asked. "Fine. I guess I'd rather help out than just...wait and see if you win."

King Rhoam smiled. "Perhaps where alone you failed, you will succeed with the aid of your newfound allies. I know little of the state of the world beyond the borders of this plateau, beyond what my daughter spoke to me of in years past. I know not whether Ganon still controls the Guardians that surround the castle, or even if they still function, and I know as much about the Divine Beasts. But it would be foolish to think that you can attack and defeat Ganon in your current state. Preparations must be made." He pointed out the broken window and Link stepped up beside him in order to see what he pointed at.

A pair of mountains—or, perhaps, a single mountain that had long since been broken into two halves—lay to the east, where his finger indicated. "To the east, there is a village in the wilderness. The northbound road beyond the Dueling Peaks will lead you to Kakariko Village. There, you will find the elder, Impa, assuming she still lives. Like I, she was set to wait these last hundred years for your return, and I believe she will be able to tell you more of the path that lies before you."

"How will I defeat Ganon?" Link asked.

"I do not know," King Rhoam said, smiling sadly. "But I am confident that Impa will have some thoughts on the matter. She was always among the craftiest of Sheikah. And if Zelda has begun to speak to you, then perhaps she has also discovered a weakness in the Calamity Ganon."

"Hey, quick question. Where do we come in?" Caspar asked.

King Rhoam looked at him. "I don't know. Sadly, I also do not know how to get you home. Perhaps Impa knows someone who can help you."

"Figures," Caspar said, disappointed.

"I have prepared what supplies I have for your journey," King Rhoam said, leading Link to a bundle of supplies. Rhoam's cloak was there, as were a pair of gloves, a rope, a lantern, his paraglider, and a pouch containing a number of multi-colored gems cut into hexagonal shapes.

"Rupees. Still the accepted form of currency in Hyrule, I believe, unless things have changed so dramatically in the last one hundred years," the old man said, smiling. "It is not a lot, but it is all I have been able to find on the Plateau. I am sure the bokoblins did their fair share of looting when they took up residence. However, it should be enough to buy some basic supplies off of merchants or some of the inns that exist along the roads."

"They seem less convenient than gold," Dimitri commented.

"That's as may be," King Rhoam commented, "But there's magic in them. They've been proven to have objective value."

"I suppose that makes sense," Dimitri agreed.

Link opened the map on the Sheikah Slate and saw where the path down the Plateau was marked on the map. Then he looked back up.

King Rhoam had begun to change. It had been nearly imperceptible at first—the ethereal glow had seemed stronger, but that had been all—but now Link found that the king had grown translucent.

Rhoam smiled sadly and reached out, placing a hand on Link's shoulder. "It appears that my time has finally come," he said as he grew less substantial.

Link's eyes widened. "No! Please! I… I still have no memories. You've barely told me anything!"

"My purpose was to guide you onto the path, Link," Rhoam said. His feet had faded completely from existence, and his legs were beginning to do so as well. "But I trust you will have the strength to go on. Seek out Impa, as I said, or whoever she entrusted with her knowledge, if she has passed on. That is where you will find the information you seek." The king looked down at himself and seemed at a loss for words. Finally, he looked up at Link, the skin at his eyes crinkling with a smile. "And, please, take care of my daughter. She has waited long for you. Farewell."

Link looked at where King Rhoam had been. "Farewell, my king."