Getting back to Kakariko Village took longer than getting to Hateno had, but not that much longer. Shortly after nightfall of the seventh day of travel, the party reached their destination. On the way to Impa's house, Link noticed Petra covered in Cucco scratches, handing a Cucco to Cado. "That is being the last one."
"You look a little worse for wear," Cado said.
"These Cuccos are unlike chickens, dangerous prey to hunt," Petra said. Her grammar was technically correct, but her diction was way off. "I am thanking you for the experience."
"No, thank you for finding my Cuccos," Cado said. "I was worried about them. Though I guess my fears were irrational, considering that Cuccos can take care of themselves. Here," he handed Petra a purple rupee.
Petra took the rupee. "Hmm. It is not being enough to buy stealth armor, but I will be working on getting more."
"Good news: you don't have to," Caspar told her, surprising her. "We're getting paid to escort some builders to Zora's Domain. A suit of stealth armor just might be in the budget."
"Would two suits?" Monica asked.
"Has Monica been trying to be able to afford stealth armor?" Petra asked.
Monica held up a purple rupee of her own. "Yeah, but this is all I've got. One of the locals wanted me to catch fireflies for her. I can't exactly blame her, the fireflies are beautiful. We don't have them where I'm from."
"We'll have you two fitted for armor tomorrow," Link told them. "Right now, I have to speak to Lady Impa."
Monica sighed. "And I was hoping to stargaze tonight."
"Then stargaze," Link said. "I meant I wanted to speak to Lady Impa alone."
Monica frowned at that, but Link ignored her to talk to Impa.
Hubert watched as Link entered Impa's house. He looked at "Monica", who also seemed interested in what Link was going to talk with her about.
"We're spying on them, right?" Claude quietly asked the two of them.
"You know it," "Monica" agreed.
Hubert nodded. After all, he couldn't afford to let the two of them know something that he didn't.
Link glared at Hubert, Kronya, and Claude. "That was supposed to be a private meeting."
The three of them had the grace to at least look embarrassed.
"We were all kind of morally stunted at the time," Claude admitted. "You know that."
Link sighed and continued with the story.
Link showed Lady Impa the pictures on the Sheikah Slate. "And they haven't jogged your memory yet?" Impa asked.
"Just fragments." He grimaced slightly and looked away. "Nothing substantial or useful."
"Link." Her voice was firm. "I did not send you to Purah in hopes that you would recover memories that would be useful in defeating Ganon. I doubt there will be much at all useful in the memories locked away in your mind. After all, you did not know how to defeat Ganon one hundred years ago. I want you to regain your memories for you, as I am sure the princess wished as well. There is much pain in your history, and remembering it will not all be pleasant, but you deserve to know who you are."
"I recalled a fragment of a memory," Link admitted. "But not from the pictures. I visited my old house, and I remembered that I had a sister."
"That's good," Impa said. "Anything else?"
"Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali," Link added. "I remember their names, and that I knew them. But I still don't remember any specific times I spent with them."
"Keep trying," Impa told him. "Is that all?"
Link decided not to tell Impa about the strange emotions he had felt when he looked at the pictures of Zelda. It was...too personal. He nodded.
"Given time, I believe that you will recover more of your memories. Already, these images have helped you, and I would imagine that visiting the places that these were taken at might have an even stronger effect," Impa theorized.
Link looked at the pictures. There were many of them, and several had no clear identifying landmarks that could provide a clue to where they were. "Might be hard to find some of these places."
"No, Link, I'm not suggesting you visit all of the locations in these pictures. That would be utterly impractical. But the journey that you must take to free the Divine Beasts is not entirely different from the one you and Princess Zelda took one hundred years ago. You visited each of the different races in Hyrule to see the Divine Beasts, and that is reflected in these pictures. You may end up in some of these same places." She showed him an image of a beautiful stone city held aloft by stone pillars over a large body of water. He could see some of the strange fish-men and women on the walkways of the city. "I suggest you visit Zora's Domain first. It is closest and easiest to reach from here, and I have heard some…troubling rumors from that region recently. I am not sure how true they are, but it's said the Divine Beast is acting in a strange manner. It is possible that it is related to your awakening, but I am not sure."
Link was concerned. Ganon knew that he had awakened. He knew that much. Was Ganon trying to make its big push now, in hopes of destroying Hyrule before he could save it?
Could Zelda hold the floodgates shut for long enough?
"So those are Zora?" he said, finally. Impa explained that, yes, those were Zora—a race of aquatic people that lived at the mouth of the Zora River. She also showed him the Gorons, who were the large, rock-like creatures that lived at the base of Death Mountain. The Rito were the avian people that lived to the west, in the Tabantha Frontier. The Gerudo were a race of almost exclusively women, and Impa told him they lived in the large desert, southwest of Hyrule.
After explaining these things to him, Impa handed him a package.
"I had this made after you left. I apologize that I had to call you back here, but I felt that you should have this."
Curious, he took the package and carefully unwrapped it. Inside the package was a sky-blue tunic, matching the tunic he'd worn in the pictures perfectly. White trim formed simple symbols around the waist and sleeves, and the trim, likewise, formed what appeared to be a sword that framed the V of the collar. Beneath the tunic was a simple white shirt with bands of red and green color at the collar and around the wrists.
"It is the Champion's tunic," she said, looking at him intently. "Each of you had an article of clothing or ornamentation cut to mark you specifically as Hyrule's Champions. This was yours."
His mouth went dry. Could he still be called a Champion? Especially after he had apparently lost the legendary blade in his battle. Was he still worthy? He didn't know.
And yet, beneath the fear, he felt a strange sense of excitement. And truth be told, that scared him even more than the expectations associated with the tunic.
He decided not to comment on these feelings, instead asking, "Would the tunic still be significant to people now?"
"Truth be told, I am not sure," Impa said. "There may be some who remember seeing the original. Perhaps among the Zora. But even if not, you shall need a symbol. A symbol to inspire hope."
"Hope," Link said, still unsure.
"You hold within you the power to defeat Ganon," Impa assured him. "Just as Princess Zelda did all along, so too do you. You are the one chosen by the Goddess, as you were in ages past. You are our hope."
Link stared at the graphic of the sword. "And the sword?"
She hesitated. "The Master Sword is lost. Lost, not broken or unmade. And what is lost can yet be found. You were the one chosen by the Sword in ages past, and the only one who could wield it, at least without permanently harming yourself. It is your destiny to wield the Sword. When it is time, you will find it."
"What if I don't?" Link asked.
"You will," Impa said. "Destiny is not an empty platitude, Link. It is very much an observable force in this world."
"And if I need it before I find it?" Link asked.
"Perhaps that is why the children of Fódlan were sent to you," Impa theorized. "I am told that Flayn has divine power of her own. Perhaps she and her friends were sent to aid you in your quest. Still, I believe it is ultimately your quest. Not Flayn's, not Edelgard's or Dimitri's or Claude's, or any of theirs. Yours. So will you turn away?"
Link gripped the tunic. "No."
Impa smiled. "Good."