The Eternal Game

by Lincoln859

Everything can change in an instant. Sometimes all it takes is that next step, and you're in a new world, a new body. OC Insert into Link, Blended World starting in Skyward Sword. OC MC x Harem, this will be a very long story.

5. CH V: Continuing On

The Eternal Game

Chapter V

Continuing On

AN: Fair Warning, mild lewd at end of chapter

Oh Goddess Hylia, hear my plea…

I come before you today in hopes of awakening the power to seal the darkness, or to learn of the whereabouts of the chosen hero. It matters not which one I find, but please, Goddess…please bless me with something. A sign, a hint, a clue…anything.

We know you are here, we know you are watching as you always have. Please…my Kingdom is counting upon me, and I am not strong enough alone. I am supposed to have this incredible power within me, passed down from you throughout the generations, yet I have no clue how to awaken it. I have gone through the entirety of Hyrule's writings on the subject, but this has always been something passed down from mother to daughter rather than written down.

That feels rather foolish now, in truth, but none of that was my decision. Please, Goddess, aid me and Hyrule. The Calamity is rising up once more, and…

'Oh, what is the use? It's not like I will be answered.' The thought was poisonous blasphemy, but for Princess Zelda of Hyrule, it was also true. For ten years she had prayed to Hylia daily, and for ten years she had been ignored. She still had no idea what she had done to the Goddess to be ignored for so long, even after trying everything she knew of to repent for whatever sin she had committed.

Her father believed that she was not putting her all into it; long and many were the lectures she had received for her lack of focus and faith. She shouldn't be wasting her time on frivolities, she should focus solely upon her duty. No matter how much she tried, no matter how much she did, it was never enough. A heavy sigh, her knees protesting as she rose. Hours and hours kneeling on stone did her no favors, not for her body and not for the Goddesses' regard.

Bitterness rose up within her, focused solely upon herself. Why was she such a failure that she could not do what every member of her bloodline had managed? The sacred power that slept within the Queens and Princesses of the Royal Bloodline had answered the call for thousands and thousands of years; for longer than they had recorded history, in truth. Yet somehow, she was so worthless that she could not even feel the power within her, far less call upon it.

Her eyes wandered the Temple of Time; the place in all of Hyrule where Hylia's presence was felt the strongest. White stone turned gray from sheer age, a feel of time passed in every piece. Old wooden pews with gray cushions on the back lined the temple, a long and faded red carpet stretching from the door to the altar. Behind the altar, following stone stairs and atop a dais, was a large statue of the Goddess.

Zelda gazed up at the statue, its features carved to resemble a beautiful woman in the prime of her life. It reminded her of her mother, the paintings of her ancestors, and of the face she looked at in the mirror. It wasn't a perfect resemblance, but it was almost terrifying how clearly Hylia's appearance had been passed down through the ages. Her family was descended from the Goddess, from mother to daughter on and on throughout the ages, the holy power a clear indicator of the Goddesses favor.

Arrogance, it seemed, when the newest member could fall from Hylia's favor so quickly and easily. Zelda only wished she knew how to make up for her failure; her fathers admonishments to stop wasting time felt so very unhelpful when she had not a single free moment to herself. For years now her time had been spent between helping the Kingdom and praying to the Goddess in a desperate attempt to awaken her powers, and for each of those years she had barely had any free time.

Now, for the past year, as the threat of the upcoming calamity loomed every closer, she had not a second that was not tightly scheduled. A heavy sigh, her fingers tapping on the cool slate at her waist. A clear sign of how much use she could actually be when she wasn't banging her head against the brick wall of her own inadequacy.

Her fingers grasped the handle, bringin it up to look at it. Her finger pressed a button, the Eye of the Sheikah Tribe glowing on the screen before it lit up and revealed the only five things that she knew the tool could do. It could take photos, it could access other Ancient Sheikah technology, it could tell time, it made a highly accurate map, and it had a place for her to write notes. There was more to it than that, she knew there was, but while she had been the one to discover three of those abilities she just hadn't had the time to manage anything else.

She looked at her itinerary, something she had taken the time to type into it. There was so much to do, and so little time in the day to do it when balanced against the need to spend as much time as possible trying to awaken her power. She only had another half hour here, and as much as her father would lecture her for it…she needed a break. She wandered over to one of the pews and sat, sad and alone.

She didn't have anything to look forward to for the next three days; it was all just meetings, dealing with the Nobility, dealing with her father, and dealing with the army. There were no little slices carved out to help the common Hylian, no few minutes to join Robbie and Purah in discovering the secrets of the ancients…not even a few scant minutes to play around with the Sheikah Slate to try and discover new functions, despite her having been the only one to make any progress with it whatsoever. Seeing the clock and it lighting up in the presence of other technology were hardly fears, after all.

Zelda had put in significant effort to help discover the secrets of the Sheikah, and to have her efforts and accomplishments ignored by her father hurt. It was, she was reasonably sure, part of the reason that Purah had insisted on her being the one to keep the Slate rather than the scientists whose sole goal was to rediscover the knowledge of their ancestors. Her protests had gotten her nowhere, and she had been made to carry it anyways.

A soft, bitter chuckle, even as she started fiddling with the device. She had no idea what she was doing; it was pure luck that had allowed her to learn what she had so far. The surface of the slate mocked her efforts, remaining as little more than a gentle blue glow with the Sheikah Eye upon it. Two other things rested upon that display; the symbol for the map and the symbol for the notes, the time resting in the top right corner. She knew that to access the camera she needed to push the button at the top left, but none of the other buttons reacted to anything she did.

Her fingers touched various parts of it to no effect, but her heart wasn't in it. Instead she was drifting, her mind already on the upcoming stress of dealing with people. It was far too much to ask for to just be able to calmly help the common folk and ignore the Nobility, those people who constantly derided her for her failure behind her back…at least according to her father. They were far too polite to do it to her face, evidently, or anywhere she could hear.

"Have you tried tapping twice on the Eye?"

A voice came from nowhere, yet from over her shoulder, and she jumped. The Slate went flying upwards, her body diving forwards even as she turned with heart pounding in her chest, eyes finding a familiar gaze looking at her in concern. Her body hit the ground even as the Slate fell, the man reaching out a hand to catch it. Confusion coursed through her at the change, even as delight ran through her at the fact that he was speaking to her.

The slate fell straight through the outstretched hand, the ghost looking blankly down at it as it clattered on the floor. Blue eyes, always so apathetic previously, expressed dismay as clear as day, and more delight welled up within her. She could actually interact with him now? Oh, no, wait Goddess no…

"I really hope that didn't break." Her focus shifted, mind chewing over his voice. Quiet, calm, a beautiful and musical alto with every word. Magic in his voice, strangely enough, which was incredibly odd; she'd never heard anything quite like it. It was a lovely voice to hear, however; it reminded her somewhat of Princess Mipha's, in that it was soothing on a level that couldn't quite be explained.

"How are you speaking?" Blue eyes, sharp and aware with the full force of a focus she'd never felt before, turned to her. Her breath caught in her throat, heat flaring to life. Goddess he was attractive. Always had been, really, for as long as she could remember.

This man had been showing up at random throughout her life for years now without rhyme or reason, always looking as he did now. Blond bangs framing his face and trailing down to the shoulder along with the rest of his hair, pointed ears poking gently out like every Hylian. An exceptionally handsome face, with regal cheekbones and chin, blonde eyebrows above slightly angular eyes. Pink and pretty lips she had wondered out loud to him what they would be like to kiss, the memory sending red flaring to her face once more.

His body was equally pleasant; a scant inch taller than her, his body filling out a blue tunic and trousers quite nicely, and he had appeared a few times shirtless. Enough for his chest to be carved into her memory as something to enjoy on quiet nights, soft on the surface yet the moment he moved or flexed iron hard muscle showed through. He looked like a Prince, in truth, noble and strong. From the moment she had hit puberty, Zelda had been hailed as one of the most beautiful girls in all of Hyrule; were anyone to see him, they would find him one of the most gorgeous men.

"By moving my mouth? Never mind that, are you okay?" Blue eyes filled with concern, their responsive nature causing her no minor amount of worry. How much would he remember? How much would he tease her about?

He had been the one constant in her life that hadn't left or turned against her. From the day her mother died he had been there, an unjudging listener that she could tell anything. He always listened, she knew that much; his eyes, apathetic as they always had been, had always paid attention to her. Body language she'd had to learn to recognize, because his attempts to speak had been rare to start and always met with failure when he did try.

Nobody else had ever seen him. Not her father, not the guards, not wild animals or the other races of Hyrule. He had been her secret, and her closest friend, for a decade now, and wasn't that just a sign of how sad her life was. She had friends, certainly; Mipha was a truly kind and wonderful individual, and Urbosa had always been the closest thing she had to a mother after hers passed. Impa and Purah were both wonderful, though both were busy and displayed a certain level of professionalism towards her that she hated.

He, however, had never changed. For all that his appearances were sporadic, they were always when she needed company without judgment the most. From someone to reminisce about her mother after the woman had died all the way to someone to gossip to about the most inane things, he had been there. Tense moments, inane moments, sad points and happy points; he had been there for so many of them, more than any other person.

"Zelda?" Her focus snapped back to him, mortified mind causing her to blush even heavier.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine." She was quick to rise, dusting herself off. How did one start an actual conversation with the person you considered your best friend yet knew nothing about?

"How are you speaking though? You have never managed it before?" One blonde eyebrow rose, and it just wasn't fair how well he could pull that off. Still no judgment in his eyes, but there was curiosity. He seemed to consider something, his eyes flicking to his hand. He waved it around, passing it through the pew several times like the spirit he had always been. A slight bit of disappointment passed through her, despite knowing the Slate had fallen through his hand a moment ago.

"I would assume I'm a bit more here than I was before." There was an odd undertone to that, something like amusement and bitterness rolled into one. What did he mean by it, however?

"Where is here? It looks like the Temple of Time, but…not quite how I remember it." She nodded at him, her mind already cataloging that. Not how he remembered it, but close enough to be recognized? From what her father had told her this Temple hadn't changed in longer than his grandparents had been alive…what did he know?

"It is the Temple of Time, yes. How do you remember it?" A flash of darkness through those blue eyes, seeing something she couldn't that they didn't like.

"Depends on the Temple, really." Her attention focused on that; depends on the Temple? How many temples had he seen? There was only one Temple of Time, after all, only ever had been.

"What do you mean by that?" He shook his head, moving past whatever he was seeing.

"It's not all that important. What is important, however, is you." The full focus of that remarkably intense attention returned to her, the man regarding her with something like disbelief and awe.

"I hardly think so. You know all about me, after all, I've been talking to you for years. This is the first time I can talk to you though, and I have so many questions." Her words caught him off guard, but made him laugh, a melodious chuckle sounding out.

"I don't know everything about you. I'm a bit more here now, after all, and I wasn't before. Still…question for a question?" That…oh. She hadn't considered that. His change from unfocused to focused, the fact that he could speak…what if she hadn't been speaking to him this whole time? If she had instead been speaking to a part of him, then it was likely only bits and pieces got through.

She'd never heard of a spirit quite like him, and she had done research after he'd started showing up. Every bit of myth and lore the Royal Library held on anything like him had been researched in her childhood, only to come up with nothing. Oh, there was certainly a lot about spirits and myths attached to them; there were a lot of legends about the restless dead, after all. Those who died with unfinished business tended to linger, and the stronger the person the greater chance of them staying behind. There were even records of people with grudges manifesting fully into the world with terrifying abilities; a pair of brothers, musicians both, had done that, one from regret and one from hatred.

"That is acceptable, but considering you do in fact know about me…might I have the first question?" Soft understanding from those blue eyes, acceptance; it made a strange feeling swell within her as he nodded. There was no argument, no questioning her right, no insisting he knew better or deferring to her because of her position. Just acceptance.

"What is your name?" It had bugged her for years that she had no name to call him, after all, and the question seemed to startle him. His entire posture softened, and his voice had a lot of odd emotion in it when he spoke.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get at least that across to you, Zelda. My name is Link. You can have a few more before we start properly…let's say…five?" She nodded; she honestly hadn't expected to ever get that answer. A flash of slight pain, causing her to stop nibbling at her lip. She'd been trying to break that habit when she was thinking, but she evidently hadn't managed yet.

What should she even ask? She needed to know how much had gotten through, but…well. This was a spirit from who knows how long ago. An ancestor of hers, perhaps? He certainly looked like he could be a member of the Royal Family, at least judging by the shallowness that everybody else spoke to her with. As though blonde hair and attractive features was all that made a good Princess.

Perhaps…perhaps he had lived during the last time Calamity had risen, 10,000 years ago? Perhaps the Goddess hadn't abandoned her after all, and he had answers for her. Even if not about her power, then about any of the other things?

"How much do you actually know about me? Do you know about the awakening of Calamity? Do you know how to beat it? Are you related to the Royal Family of Hyrule? Do you know anything about Ancient Sheikah technology?" Link blinked at the sudden outpouring of questions, before the second and third ones registered and his face grew incredibly serious.

"I don't know how long I have, so let me start off simply. To beat the Calamity you need a Hero and a Princess with the power of the Goddess." She blinked, wondering why he hadn't included the sword,but he continued on.

"I know that you shouldn't trust the Guardians alone, and that the Champions need to have guards with them when they enter the Divine Beasts." Oh…he knew about those. What did he mean by Champions though? Her confusion seemed to come through to him, and he frowned.

"Do you not know what the Divine Beasts are, or the Champions?" He seemed incredibly apprehensive as he asked, concern growing evermore.

"Just the Champions; we discovered the Divine Beasts were real several years ago and excavated them. We haven't figured out how to make them work yet, however." According to the myths, however, they would be incredible when they were finally able to function once more. The increasing numbers of monsters throughout the land would be no match for them; the Guardians helped a lot, but even with how many there were they couldn't be everywhere at once. Oh, wait, hold on…he'd said don't trust the Guardians alone. What did he mean?

Link seemed incredibly relieved at that, blowing out a breath of air that he couldn't have taken because he wasn't physically there and continuing on. A part of her mind continued to gnaw at that, however. It wasn't possible, but it had just happened, much like everything about his existence. How did it happen?

"Okay. Please understand I don't know how it all works, but I do know that the Divine Beasts have to be linked to somebody to work properly. Not just anyone, however; they have to be exceptional individuals. Look for people with strong internal magic, or those known as exceptional in combat." She nodded slowly. It…it made sense. Then it clicked; that was why there were four separate and distinct individuals on the mural!

"They have to be the other races, don't they?" He raised one hand, shaking it in a very strange gesture back and forth, one side up and the other down and then reversing it a few times.

"Maybe? It's not exactly clear, I didn't build them. I know that every time they have been used, however, they have been piloted by a Rito, a Gerudo, a Goron, and a Zora." And, as a result, one had been buried in each of the lands belonging to the people in question. Goddess, how had they not seen it?

She heaved her own sigh; she knew very well why they hadn't seen it. They had taken the four painted on those Divine Beasts to be members of the other races, alright, but they had assumed that they were simply indicators of where they had been buried…and, in their defense, it had been. Besides that, neither her Father nor herself wished to bother the other Kingdoms to help them deal with a Hylian problem, no matter that they were subordinate kingdoms.

After all, while all had been made aware of the threat, the fact that it was two Hylians who were the Hero and the Princess seemed to make it pretty clear that it was the role of Hyrule to handle. Aid had been offered, accepted, given freely on all sides, but the fact that they hadn't even understood how to make the Guardians function properly yet had meant that the Divine Beasts hadn't been tackled yet.

"I see. That is very helpful to know." What other blatantly obvious information had they missed in their rush to manage everything at once, as quickly as possible? What life saving information did they just not have because they were overlooking such clear things?

"Stop doing that." Her attention returned to Link in confusion. Doing what?

"Stop blaming yourself because you missed something. It happens, and you would have figured it out regardless. I know you would have." The absolute certainty that was in his voice rocked her world. This wasn't faith, wasn't trust; to him it was something that was going to happen, as guaranteed as the rise and fall of the sun or the fall of rain. How did he know that? Why did he have such certainty in her?

"Zelda. Listen to me." Her eyes turned back to him, noticing how his body was beginning to fade. Blue eyes and his last words, however, would stick with her for quite some time.

"You are going to be alright. It might take a while, it might take more than you'd ever imagined…but it's going to be alright. You will get…through…this…" His voice faded out, some force of will on his part ensuring that his final words got through, and Zelda was left alone once more.

That had been the shortest meeting with him she'd ever had, and her mind raced through it all. Divine Beasts needed a pilot, and that pilot needed to be an exceptional individual. She also now knew that he was, apparently, very old indeed considering the "every time they have been used"...how many times had they been used? They only had legends of one time! Goddess, she knew that the records had been buried for some stupid reason, but why go to this extent to hide things?

Have you tried tapping twice on the eye?

His first words, ignored entirely, drifted back to her, and she frowned. Tapping twice? No, she didn't tap twice anywhere, why would someone even do that? She picked up the Slate, the screen lighting up as quickly and easily as it had before. It, of course, wasn't damaged in the slightest; she was reasonably sure the slate could take a strike from a Moblin and be fine at this point, though she hoped to never put that to the test.

Her index finger came up, tapping twice upon the eye, and blue eyes widened as an entirely new set of screens popped up. So many images, new words she didn't know the meaning of in ancient sheikah…she had to get to Purah and Robbie!

The Princess looked back at where Link had been. A short visit, but a helpful one. Perhaps…perhaps things weren't as bleak as they seemed. He was certain she was going to be alright, and there was a strange resolve burning in those eyes when he had said it. She wasn't sure what a restless spirit was able to do to assure that, but he seemed to be planning to try.

Zelda couldn't help but hope, deep in her heart, for the first time in years. Five minutes of conversation and already there were several leaps forward. The Divine Beasts needed a pilot, there were more functions on the Sheikah Slate to learn about, and she had finally learned the Spirit's name. Link; he'd been her friend for years now without ever speaking, and the moment he could he went against his own interests just to help and reassure her, even though it cost him time.

Goddess, she wished he was alive and well. She needed a friend…but, then again, that was being greedy. Even if he never showed up, if any of his advice was accurate it was already more than she'd been able to hope for thirty seconds before his appearance today. Her eyes turned to the statue of Hylia, and for the first time in forever, she thanked the Goddess. Genuinely, completely, because for the first time in forever?

She had something to be thankful for.

Princess Zelda of Hyrule left the Temple of Time in a far better mood than she entered it with, the squad of Knights assigned to her following respectfully behind her from where they had been standing at the door.

She still didn't have access to the power of her Bloodline, still didn't know where the Hero or the Legendary Sword were, but she had a path to follow. She had a goal; find four incredible individuals to pilot the Divine Beasts, even if it meant arguing with her father until he finally backed down. She would have to do so, but she already had two people in mind. It was just a matter of the Rito and the Gorons that she wasn't sure about…

Cautious optimism; not too much, she had been burned too often for that, but she let herself dare to dream. If she could get the Divine Beasts figured out, could get the Sheikah Slate figured out, they would be one step closer to managing the upcoming apocalypse.

Zelda didn't know it yet, but she would have dreams for a while. Dreams of a boy in the sky, of a bird with bloody wings, of a Hero standing against the tide of Darkness. Of a beast of pure Malice and a Hero of pure Light waging war like nothing she had ever imagined.

Dreams that would have a lasting effect upon her.

And, on an island in the Sky, a young man awoke, memories of a dream slipping away with terrifying quickness, shadows clawing at a mind shielded by light.

This could not stand…and yet it would, and it had. But nothing would be remembered…and so be it. Dark laughter and light certainty, equal yet distinct. The Die was cast by an outsider, but the powers that be still had influence.

The Game continued.

~~The Eternal Game~~

Link awoke with a start.

One second he was trying to do…something…and the next he was in his room. What…what was going on? He could remember talking, could remember Zelda, but…but what? A blink, slow and calm. One hand came up, the time displayed after a second of calculation.

4:37 A.M.

What woke him? Why did it feel like he was missing something? Something to do with Zelda. He kicked the sheets off, standing quickly. His hand found the Darknut blade that he'd leaned against the wall and he walked out into the quarters, eyes and ears looking for something but he didn't know what. He walked to Zelda's door, feet quieter than ever before, and listened.

He could hear her breathing gently; she didn't snore, but even through the door he could hear her breathing. Skylian ears were remarkable, considering how quiet they all were. He stood there for several minutes, wondering why the urge of help Zelda wasn't abating. There were no other sounds, and cracking open the door just enough to see showed no intruders there.

He gently shut the door, careful to not make a noise, and looked around. The urgency was decreasing as time went by, his mind not able to figure out what had caused it to panic. Link shook his head, hand rising to his head. It smacked against his skull, the first noise he'd made, and he looked at it like it had betrayed him. Why had he been expecting it to go through him? It hadn't hurt, but what was with his brain right now?

Link returned to his room, setting the blade back where it was and getting dressed…only to pause as he looked down at himself. He'd stripped before bed, sleeping in his underwear; he remembered doing so, and was still in that exact state of dress. So why did he feel like he was wearing his outfit? It felt like his Champions Tunic was on his chest, felt like his trousers were on his legs and his boots were on his feet.

Even as he looked at himself, the sensation faded, and soon he was left with just the sensation of air on flesh. He was quick to dress, but the confusion remained. He'd just woken up and today was already off, and he had no idea why. No matter how long he puzzled over it, he had no idea why.

Soon enough, you will know

Something told him it wouldn't be a mystery forever, though. What it was he didn't know, but it was enough to settle his nerves and let him focus on things other than the wrongness of the morning. So he did.

It was a bit too early to start breakfast, but there were other things to do. He was not about to start back on Reason just yet, but there were still plenty of books to read. One in particular he had an interest in, considering how many he was already going through. Potion Making for Novices was grabbed, and Link settled himself at his desk, opening up the shutters to see the sun when it began to rise.

Zelda had been getting up not long before he finished cooking each day, and he knew it had been at different times each morning. Yesterday had been the earliest, in fact, something disturbing his sleep then too. Odd, but considering he was still waking up well rested, he couldn't bring himself to mind. Even with the fact that he was waking up ridiculously early he was still better off than he'd ever been in his original body.

The book was opened, and Link began to read. It was the Novice variant, so it didn't have many recipes; three basic elixirs, in fact. What it did have was an explanation as to what potions were, how they were made, and their uses.

Potions were separated into two groups; Elixirs and Ointments, though both could use the word Potion interchangeably. The separation was, thankfully, easy enough to remember; Elixirs affected the body in some way whereas Ointments affected objects. A Health Potion, to pull from the infinite fantasy universes that may or may not be real now that he thought about it, was referred to as an Elixir of Healing. Because naming was hard.

It was actually fairly effective, and even the minor variant that was in this book could still save a life from blood loss. It wasn't true magic, so to speak; flesh wouldn't knit itself back together, bones wouldn't snap back into place and organs wouldn't regrow. What would happen, however, was the simple encouragement of a body to heal. Minor elixirs would encourage blood clotting to a supernatural extent, and regular ones would actually "age" the wound a bit. Scabbing over, clotting; even some small degree of healing.

Ointments were potions, or salves as the case may be, that altered something about an object rather than a person. The potions he'd bought to repair his gear were ointments, as would something like a Potion of Fire; a potion that, when poured over a weapon, would give it fire damage. He couldn't remember where that was from, but it was in some book or another. Here that was called a Flame Ointment, and no, this book did not teach that to you.

The three potions taught were simple. The Minor Elixir of Healing, the Minor Elixir of Endurance, and the Minor Elixir of Spice. Healing, Stamina, and heat strangely enough; magic wasn't that easy to restore, apparently, despite being the third part of the holy trinity of stats. Link felt like it was blasphemous to not have an Elixir of Magica or something like that, but the book provided an answer for that too.

The reasons those three Elixirs were chosen for the book were many, but they boiled down to fairly simple ones. They used basic ingredients, they were quick and easy to brew in a household, and messing them up didn't cause any problems that wouldn't be immediately obvious. The Elixir of Spice was actually noted to be the only one that wasn't usually useful, but enough Skylians had Loftwings that they'd included it to fight off the chill of the skies.

The Elixir of Mana, however, was complex to brew and required rarer ingredients. Blue Chuchu jelly, for the most minor ones, and considering that those slimes were actually a pain to gather from here…well, it made sense. The standard one apparently required Blue and Yellow Chuchu jelly, for some reason, as well as a Wizzrobe's finger. Considering those monsters were noticeably less common than Chuchu, as well as significantly more deadly, Link could imagine how much more difficult it was.

One thing that had been kept from the games, however, was the fact that every potion required monster parts. Some of them could be substituted with plants, but the stronger variants always required parts from strong monsters. The entire reason why Lynel parts were so valuable was because of how much power was packed into them. Healing, Stamina, Endurance, Attack, Defense; all of those were just for the Elixirs, to say nothing of what the parts could do for ointments.

Link considered that for a few moments. He didn't have the time now, but in the future, if monsters were still an issue, it may be worthwhile to start a monster part stockpile. Skyloft apparently had one, but naturally it was a bit thin when it came to the stronger monsters. Lynel parts were broken out only in times of immense need; apparently the preservation magic was strong enough to last a very long time. It could only help him in the future.

Brewing the potions seemed to be fairly simple overall, much like potions seemed to be universally when you had a recipe. You prepared the ingredients, put them into a pot in a certain order, stirred, applied a touch of magic, and boom. You had a potion. Interestingly enough, the specifics were actually a lot more forgiving than your average potions, to the point where you could easily brew a pot of healing elixir over your campfire of an evening if you had the parts.

Admittedly, that wasn't true for all of them. According to the book, contamination of ingredients was a thing once you got to higher level potions, along with ingredient potency and exact timing and heat. Something like the "Elixir of Restoration", which could regenerate even lost limbs if consumed within a certain time frame of the limb loss, was supposedly an incredibly demanding task lasting no less than two weeks of constant effort. The longest period the potion could go without adjustment was 37 minutes, meaning the brewer could at best get catnaps.

That was an interesting point as well. The magic inherent to potions meant that only a single person could brew a potion at a time. Introducing a second person taking over the brewing would result in the potion turning toxic at best, exploding at worst. It was a difference he needed to keep in mind; don't interrupt people making potions, and if he was going to make any in the future he would need a lot of practice.

A quiet giggle, shaking his head. Everything needed a lot of practice here. Reason magic, potion making…anything of value needed practice. Funnily enough, unlike most things in his original world, he wanted to practice them. He enjoyed cooking for Zelda; wanted to improve even, though he didn't know how. It had only ever been a chore before, and now he was genuinely looking forward to it. Though if Zelda held him each morning like he had yesterday…mm. He didn't need to get excited this early in the day.

He honestly didn't know what had triggered that, but he was more than happy with it. If Zelda wanted to hug him and whisper sweet affirmations in his ears, he wasn't about to complain. He did need to find some similar way to express his appreciation of her, however. She adored running her fingers through his hair…perhaps returning the favor with a head massage?

She'd also enjoyed the Silent Princesses, and thankfully enough they were still in bloom when he'd peeked in earlier. It did mean that he didn't have an immediate replacement for it, however, and with exactly zero knowledge of her other likes and dislikes…well. Suffice it to say he had minimal gift ideas, to his dismay. It was even more concerning, now that he was thinking about it, because he didn't remember her birthday.

Link frowned, considering. Perhaps the original Link had written it down? So he went searching, finding nothing of use. The books were all school, art, or cooking related, and there were no scraps of paper lying about anywhere. His eyes wandered the room, spotting the one thing he hadn't bothered to look at so far. Well, two things really, neither of which he had bothered with.

The first was the bag that had been sitting innocuously upon the nightstand since he'd walked in that first night; opening it up revealed it to be Link's wallet. Amusingly enough, it had one gold, one purple, four reds, and four greens in it, bringing his total rupee count up to a whopping irrelevant. His mind told him he had 355,726 rupees now, still processing math as quickly as it could after spending part of yesterday studying Reason, but it wasn't like his amount of money helped. Zelda was rich enough to buy anything she wanted, after all.

The second thing, however, was the chest at the foot of his bed. He hadn't even bothered to open it so far, and in his defense he hadn't needed anything that could be stored in it. Now, however, there was a chance that Link had kept something of value within it, so he opened it. To his quiet disappointment, the signature music of the Zelda series didn't play while he was opening it, nor did golden light shine out of it.

What was in there, however, was a bit of a surprise. An old, worn out hairband in blue, alongside a dozen gold rupees, upping his money even further. A journal that would hopefully provide answers, a folded up and old piece of paper, and a necklace. A necklace bearing what, if he wasn't mistaken, was the Royal Crest, meaning it was a gift from either Zelda or Gaepora, and a rather touching one in truth, even if he didn't have the context. After all, providing a crest to someone was trusting them with your very reputation in a medieval era, at least according to the books he'd read. Considering this was fantasy as well…he felt like he could trust them to that extent.

He picked up the journal, and found that it was exactly what he'd hoped; Link's diary. He didn't keep one in the games, since they were provided solely to add additional characterization, but it made sense for him to have one seeing as everybody else did. He flipped it open, the book full of the beautiful handwriting that this body possessed, and searched through it.

It became clear remarkably quickly that Link was writing in it because he was being told to by Zelda; it was stated on the first page, in the very first line. Most of it was filled out like a report; what he'd done each day, how he'd spent his time, and idle observations. Apparently there was a noble, one with no name provided, who reminded Link of a bokoblin, except the bokoblin looked better.

Moving past the nonsense and skimming through as much as he could, the journal proved to be both helpful and not. He found Zelda's birthday; February 21st, a date she had insisted on sharing with Link due to the fact that he had no idea when he was born, just that he was roughly a year younger than her, but there was honestly little else of consequence. No names, no places, no interactions in detail.

The only things that had any life to them were Link's interactions with Zelda, in fact. 'Zelda and I went swimming today; I think I am going to draw it. She was having more fun than I have seen in quite a while. It makes me wonder why we can't go more often, it isn't like she would be missed. Her father keeps insisting that she take more time for herself, but she spends all her time learning. Perhaps I should request it? It's not what I'd rather do, I'd much rather take naps or draw, but she needs the break.'

It actually contained thoughts, interests, and little tidbits of information. A few more like that and he'd actually learned a fair bit. Zelda's favorite flowers were in fact Silent Princesses, apparently because they meant something important. Something Link hadn't bothered to write down, naturally, but no matter. Her favorite food was something that had triggered the single largest entry in the book, amusingly enough.

Apparently, Zelda's favorite food was "Anything you cook, Link." Link, naturally, had not been satisfied with that, and had sunk what was perhaps the single greatest amount of effort he'd put into anything in his life; he even mentioned it. According to him, finding out what was actually Zelda's favorite food took more time and effort than defeating the Royal Guard, a Knight Wing, and a Company combined, which…well. He wasn't sure who that insulted the most.

It had taken him four months to conclusively decide that her favorite meal was a creamy vegetable risotto, one he'd gone to ridiculous lengths to perfect and had, thankfully, written down the recipe. It wasn't exactly what he'd imagined she would enjoy the most, but she had asked for a veggie soup his first day here. So, while she clearly wasn't vegetarian, she had a clear preference for vegetables. Odd, but he wasn't going to judge, this body enjoyed them far more than his previous one had.

Link's efforts hadn't stopped there; he'd paired it with her preferred bread, which also included a recipe, and finally a fruitcake. Not a store bought one that was gifted to relatives you didn't like for christmas, but one that he baked himself over the course of an afternoon. Apples, durians, and berries all came together to make her favorite cake, moist and perfect with a cream icing that Link had spent more effort on than was warranted.

He noted it himself even, a bit of rueful amusement coming across in the writing. It was apparently all worth it, however, because Zelda lit up like nothing else when eating it and had promptly dropped hints for months afterwards about sharing that recipe with the Royal Chefs. Link never had, naturally, meaning that the only place in the world that that exact icing recipe was stored was this journal.

Those weren't the only recipes he stored either; the journal was filled with recipes and tweaks as he found them out, testing them on a very willing Zelda. The skills in the kitchen he'd inherited had been well-earned, apparently, starting with Link needing to fill his own stomach and then developing properly when he had a taste tester who got so very sad that Link was eating grilled meat and vegetables when they had chefs Link, you are more than welcome to go to the kitchens at any point in the day and request food, we all know you need more than most.

His eyes caught the morning sun, and a quick runthrough of math in his head showed the time at 5:37. The sun wasn't up yet, but it was starting to, and that meant it was time to start cooking. With his newfound knowledge, and still having some honey left over, he decided to make glazed veggies, though he was going to make himself some meat on the side. Perhaps something stronger for lunch?

His mind ran over his options as he started to cook, the warmth in his soul thrusting through him as Sylph greeted the day with the rising sun. He sent back his own happiness and contentment, met and matched with that of the partner of his soul, and he couldn't help but smile.

Life in Skyloft was wonderful, and he never wanted it to end. Sylph was amazing, Zelda was even more so, and even Gaepora was wonderful. He was everything he'd ever dreamed of being and more, at least in terms of genuine fantasies. Sure, he'd imagined having a harem; who hadn't? The idea of having multiple people to love you and only you, while you could have many, was a delight that had been shown repeatedly throughout human history.

He'd also fantasized about being evil before, about being the Overlord from the Overlord games and wreaking havoc upon a stupid populace. About ruling and power, of having women from various universes enslaved to his every whim. Link couldn't help but chuckle at himself. Who would have thought that Zelda alone, hugging and holding him, would put all of those dreams to rest? Not even to rest, they were dead and buried.

Sure, it was still nice to imagine multiple women; Casa and Zelda working together for his pleasure was an incredible thought and always would be, after all. But in terms of actual life choices…he was content with this. No, not just content, he was happy. He had everything he'd ever truly wanted in the palm of his hands, eagerly trying to get to him even as he pulled it close, and all it would take to keep it would be a lot of fighting.

This…this was something he could fight for. This was something he would fight for. Wonderful mornings of seeing Zelda's beautiful face as she came from her room for an early morning cuddle, calm and quiet conversations without so much as a single raised voice throughout them. Spending his days in Skyloft being of use, wandering around and helping, living the life of a video game protagonist but better, amply rewarded for his efforts without having to worry about an overarching plot or an upcoming disaster.

His evenings and nights spent with Zelda once more, whether in quiet or in conversation. A woman who could read what he wanted and acted to provide it without him asking for it, yet who also didn't mind teasing or playfulness. He'd never been allowed to get comfortable with people before, every time he had it had gone wrong. With Zelda…with her it wasn't even that he had been allowed to be comfortable, it was that he had never even considered raising barriers.

Link had had a great many fantasies in his old life. From being the Hero to the Villain, from living in Anime to Books to Games, from having a harem to having a single partner he was deeply attached to. He had imagined being Uzumaki Naruto and being the ultimate badass of the verse, having every woman in the Leaf village eager for him. He'd imagined being Son Gohan and being the sheer beast that Gohan had always had the potential to be, and pairing up with Android 18.

Link had imagined being Corrin and taking the path of Conquest, had imagined leading the Shepherds to victory after victory as Robin. He'd imagined being Star Fox and slaughtering his way through waves upon waves of enemies in space and on the ground. He'd imagined being Cloud Strife and beating Sephiroth as he grew closer and closer with Tifa Lockhart. He'd dreamed of being Ichigo and obliterating Hollows while scoring with the likes of Yoruichi and Rangiku, had longed to be a smarter version of Luffy and have Boa Hancock, Nami, and Robin after him.

He'd imagined being Link too, but never like this. He'd imagined killing monsters, of course, but more often than not it had been just about the sex. A pleasant fantasy about Zelda, about the Gerudo, or any of the other fine women in the universe. Funny, then, how he was now dreaming of simple domestics. All his dreams, put in the grave just because one girl was always happy to see him and completely, genuinely cared for him.

Link painted a pumpkin with honey, idly wondering how this was going to taste even as he let his body work on autopilot. He'd come to a decision. Zelda wouldn't get her favorite meal tonight, but at the end of the week. Today was day four of seven, so in three days he would devote the time to making all her favorites. It would be an excellent way to reward her for a week of work, and it would mean that he had that dinner planned as well as a good part of the afternoon. Cooking should make a nice little rest day as well, giving him something to look forward to.

The fruit simmered, Link frying up several pieces of beef to go with it. He should, while he was doing this, see if hunting worked on autopilot like so many other skills seemed to. Link had written about it in the journal; it was where he'd gotten all the extra meat he was eating, after all. If he could do some hunting…well. Boar meat was good, as was deer meat, and he'd always wanted to try bear.

He would also need to do some grocery shopping fairly soon, the larder was getting a bit low. Considering how much he'd been eating the past two days, it made sense, but it was still something he'd have to do. There was the town nearby…surely it should have a market of some sort, right? Oh, no, wait, it had the Bazaar from the games, that was right. Perhaps he should finally get around to investigating it.

Chances were, since this was now a real world rather than a game, it would sell things other than potions, shields, basic gear, and a few upgrades. Ideally it would be something of a blend; a market for students to get food at, as well as a place for them to spend rupees on their own upgrades. He'd be happy with anything though, going there was just a way to burn time before he went to the library for the better part of the day.

He had no desire to earn additional money, and he wasn't going to be fighting any of the Skylian Military today, so it was time to learn some more history. He had a great many questions, and the only way to get answers was to either ask or look them up. Then he planned to fly some more that afternoon; he had promised to practice with Sylph, and so far he had only really done that once.

The door behind him opened, Zelda's feet gently hitting the floor. She was more awake today than she had been yesterday, and he turned to look at her; she was fully presentable this morning, not a bit of ruffled hair or clothing to be seen. What was the same however, was the smile so full of happiness, contentment, and adoration that it caused that ache in his chest to act up again, warmth and care swelling up within him.

"Good morning, Link."

The voice of an angel given form greeted him, and he was happy to greet her in return. A few seconds later they were hugging, each side breathing deep of the other and relaxing against each other. The pair didn't separate either, Zelda letting him go just long enough for him to turn back around to the food before she was greedily hugging him once more. It took her several minutes to register the glazed vegetables that he was cooking, but the hum of wordless delight at the sight had warmth rushing through him once more.

They shared breakfast, having a relaxed and wonderful morning, everything that both Link and Zelda had wanted from the morning. A way to charge up for the day ahead, peace at home and at heart. A little bit of conversation, a little bit of cuddling, and both of them left wanting more but both waiting for their own reasons.

So they parted, one final hug at the door, and then the world called and they were forced to go. Link, however, found it bittersweet. Another wonderful morning, another morning passed. Another morning ticking by on the countdown to doomsday.

~~The Eternal Game~~

The Academy Bazaar was a bustling place.

Larger by far than the game would imply, the largest building in the village near the Academy, the Bazaar was far busier than its mere thirty nearby buildings would imply. Two dozen shops, some smaller than the others, were dotted around, and much to his thankfulness it served as a full-on Market rather than just a couple of game-level shops. He'd talked to Zelda about getting groceries during breakfast, the girl expressing regret that she couldn't go to the Bazaar with him, but she had at least confirmed that was where they went grocery shopping.

He honestly hadn't expected there to be so many people though. Everywhere he looked there were people, a bustling thrum of noise in the early morning sun. Students in their uniforms, Knights in armor, Soldiers in uniform and armor mixed, and then civilians. The first ones he'd seen up close, really, barring a village at the far end of the Skylian Kingdom, letting him get a proper view of the race he was now part of.

Skylians, or rather Hylians, had always been a bit of a mixed bag in the games. A lot of them in the early games were tall, elegant elves, with those having more physically demanding jobs being wider and muscular. In later games, like Skyward Sword, Windwaker, and Breath of the Wild, the population got a bit goofier. Heights began to vary, faces were built oddly, and other minor details came in that made the Hylian race a varied one. Gaepora's ridiculous unibrow, for instance.

Skylians at least followed the older trend, the trend of elves. Varying heights, though most were taller than him, with bodies elegant and attractive. Visible muscle in a fair number of them, and everyone he could see had an attractive face. Even better, however, unlike Vintin village, the Bazaar had elderly. There was no sense of wrongness due to a complete lack of an entire group of a population.

No, here he could see visibly older individuals tending to stalls, playing with kids, or just talking. Grayed and silvered hair was the greatest indicator, with a handful having some wrinkled faces or hands. Some of them were hunched over, some of them walked with caution, but just the fact that they existed meant that he was a lot more comfortable here than he had been in Vintin.

What really stood out to him, however, was the atmosphere. The Bazaar was, as a whole, remarkably cheerful. A thrum of happiness in the air; impressions of kindness, of money changing hands, deals being made, and generosity. Kids were around, playing with each other or talking to adults with the adults visibly making time for them. Even the soldiers on duty smiled down at children and made time for them, some even going so far as to kneel down to the child's level to speak to them.

Then there were the people; teenagers sharing meals from the stalls of food, off-duty soldiers milling about and chatting, adults wandering around shopping…it was first thing in the morning. The morning bell had rung roughly half an hour ago, in fact, so why were there so many people here already? Link shook his head, it wasn't like it mattered that much, but it was odd.

Then again…from what he'd noticed so far, Skylians were up early. Despite having light all around in the form of those odd crystals on various walls in the Bazaar, most things he'd seen closed up as the evening approached. Perhaps it had to do with the lack of electricity? He remembered something about medieval society living and dying as the sun rose and set, since they didn't have lighting, but Skyloft did.

A small thing, but enough for his mind to nibble at as he wandered around and checked out the shops. There were a fair few stalls serving various food types; he'd just eaten, but one thing he'd learned about this body was that it could always eat. He tried one of the stalls that was offering curry pilaf; rice with spice, essentially, as though the curry he'd made earlier in the week didn't have rice.

It was alright; good in fact, better than anything he'd managed in his old body. Compared to what Link, and now he, could manage, however? For the first time in his life, he could understand the people online who'd always talked about how they would much rather cook themselves than eat out. Washing dishes wasn't exactly a chore, after all, and his food was so much better it wasn't even really a comparison. Honestly, this curry wasn't even hot. It was hot as in temperature, but not in spice, and he found himself rather disappointed by that fact.

No matter, he had shopping to do. And so he did; shop after shop, market stall after market stall, buying it and storing it in the pouches he'd been given. Meats, vegetables, fruits, spices, seasonings; his body went onto that odd kind of autopilot once more. He wasn't even entirely sure what he was looking for in some of the stuff, but his hand bypassed a fine looking cut of beef to choose a different one despite his original intent to grab the first.

He did see several shops selling gear as well, even though he didn't go into them. Clothing, armor pieces, minor enchanted equipment, and an entire potions area with more glass in one place than he'd ever seen outside of a perfume aisle. He ignored them for now, but made a note to come back later. The potions, at least, would be useful, even if they would be differently priced than the games had. Still, he had groceries to buy, and he had a lot to buy.

The amount of groceries he bought was ridiculous, but more so the price of them. Not even that they were expensive; the opposite, in fact. The games had things like carrots selling for 30 rupees. Here they did too, but it was more like a rupee for five carrots. The entire supply of food, something that would have fed him for well over a month previously but was now more like a week, cost just a bit less than half of what he'd carried in his wallet

A week of food, for 207 rupees. He didn't know how much the allowance he got was, but if Link had been the only one buying the food, and the number of gold rupees in his chest, he got the sense that Link had been fine for money. Considering how much more he ate than Zelda, who was also presumably eating more than normal due to burning magic during the day, he was beginning to get an idea of things.

Honestly, this put Gaepora's explanation yesterday into a much clearer light. If buying groceries to feed himself, who ate that much more than others, was only a bit over 200 rupees for roughly a week…hmm. Well, his cost of living would be ridiculous, considering that would be over ten thousand rupees a year, the average cost of food for a year would be significantly lower. Assuming that was actually a month's worth of food for a family, that was only a bit over 2,400 rupees for a year, easily supplemented with a few of the minor jobs from the Bounty Boards.

Skyloft was a rather simple place, wasn't it? If rupees were equivalent to dollars, 2,400 wouldn't be anywhere close to enough to live on for a year, even with just food. Perhaps if you grew and hunted most of your own food it would manage, but he wasn't even sure about that. No matter, he wasn't living there anymore. Skyloft was his home now, and whatever would be Hyrule later on.

Link frowned, that thought in his mind ringing oddly. It shouldn't, but it was. Skyloft would become Hyrule at the end of it all, in what was probably a year or so. It was the foundation of every other game, no matter the timeline, because the other races didn't really exist for thousands and thousands of years. Well, barring the Gorons. Actually…hmm.

There were multiple races listed in that myth, but everything barring the Gorons had died out. Or…had they? The Rito could fly away, the Zora could hide in the oceans, and the Gorons were incredibly difficult to kill considering they could survive lava. Hylians, and therefore the other races, were the more fragile ones. Dragons would be a priority for Demise to target, which would explain why they never really did much in the games. Dwarves and Elves existing was…odd, but the first were far too stubborn to give up and the latter…well.

Elves were nice; truly they were. But he couldn't really think of a single fictional universe that was genuinely better off for having them. Even Lord of the Rings, as cool as they were…well. The Elves were the main reason that Sauron grew as strong as he did, but in the final battles it was primarily men and dwarves who did the work. They were valuable, immeasurably so, but they weren't exactly dying in droves for the safety of Middle Earth. The only time they'd done that had been in the Last Alliance, thousands of years before the story of the Fellowship took place.

Oh well. They had died out here, as had the dwarves. Link rather doubted that either race would have survived Demise, because both races were prideful and stubborn enough to fight to the last breath. Considering that only Hylians had survived to be cast up into the Sky, well…Link wouldn't be surprised if both of them had been genocided to the last. They were threats after all, in every universe they were in.

Still, the Rito and Zora escaping could explain how they were present in later games while not being present in early timeline ones. They were busy with their own problems, after all. He was also drifting rather horribly; Skyloft founded Hyrule, that was a fact.

Even the Gerudo descended from Hylians, from the likes of Groose, though it took centuries to millenia for them to adapt. Honestly, he had no clue how a race of female badasses could come from Groose of all people, but he wasn't going to question it. Objectively the single most valuable contribution to the verse from him, however. Sure, there was the catapult thing, but…well, Skyward Sword Link had to be at least as strong as the Wilds Link, so somehow he doubted that the catapult was even needed outside of game mechanics. Nothing compared to being the origin of the Gerudo, however.

And he was drifting again. Focus was such an odd thing in this body. When he had a solid goal, such as the jobs from yesterday and the day before, it was as though his focus was rock solid, unable to drift away from the goal. At points like today, however, when what he had was more vague plans than an actual goal, he found himself drifting. He couldn't really understand it, considering the way he'd been in his old body.

Sure, he liked fantasizing about all kinds of things, but he had to focus to get things done. There was no form of autopilot where his body could just take over, his brain doing its own thing rather than being required for the task at hand. He also had no trouble focusing; he could put in as much or as little effort as he liked to anything, and when he needed to work without distraction, he could do it. This body got distracted easily, though.

Link shook it off and returned to the rooms, restocking the cupboards. He found himself amused by how overful they were by the point he was done, however; they barely managed to close, and he hadn't even planned that. Just another point for the oddities of his body, however. Considering what he could do, however…he didn't think he minded. What he could do went way beyond muscle memory, but he'd take it as the crutch it was probably meant to be until he got used to this and his brain could catch up to his body.

No matter, he had other things to worry about. Things such as history, Reason, and figuring out what would actually be coming his way. His meta knowledge would help a little bit, but it had already been made quite clear to him that his knowledge of the verse was horribly inaccurate. After all, just as a starting point…Skyloft was big. There were more students in the academy than there had been NPCs in the game. He should sit down and review that, actually. Probably soon, perhaps before he went to the library?

A knock at the door had him pause; that was new. A voice rang out, warm and kind just as it had been every time since he had heard it.

"Link, are you in?" It was Gaepora, paying a room visit. Instincts from his old life had his eyes sweep over the room before he answered, making sure that nothing incriminating was present. Then, spotting some of the rupees he'd been making on the coffee table, he took a step towards it. Money, after all, could not be seen. Then what he was doing caught up with him, and he giggled at himself.

Gaepora didn't care about the money he was making, and more importantly he actively knew about it. The man wasn't like his parents, who would find some reason to acquire his hard-earned money. So he responded, voice raising to just loud enough to be heard through the door.

"I am. It's unlocked." The door opened, Gaepora stepping inside. Strangely enough there were several members of the Royal Guard with him, but he waved for them to stay outside and shut the door behind him.

"How are you today, my boy?" There was something odd about Gaepora; a tension that hadn't been there the other times he had seen the man. A grimness, for lack of a better word, that caused his demeanor to be subdued and seriousness to infect him.

"I am alright. Did something happen to Zelda?" Gaepora's eyes widened slightly in surprise, then smiled slightly and shook his head.

"No, my apologies for concerning you Link. My daughter is fine, and to my knowledge she is busy weaving the sailcloth. I am here for a different purpose." Link nodded, taking in the way the man looked. Gaepora looked like he had had a rough morning. It wasn't in his clothing, as that was as impeccable as it had been every other time he'd seen the King. No, it was in his bearing, his spirit; something had worn him down.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" Brown eyes looked at him in surprise, but softened and a weary smile spread across his lips. He nodded, unibrow bobbing.

"That would be greatly appreciated, Link." So he set about making some; it didn't take long before two cups of warm safflina tea was made, his body working on that odd autopilot to do it. One cup had a spoon of honey put into it, the other three, and it was that one he handed to Gaepora, who managed to actually look happy at it. He sipped at it, some of the tension in the man's frame washing away.

"Mm, you continue to excel at everything you do, Link. I am proud of you." Warmth in his chest, but Link ignored it. It was just a cup of tea, after all, hardly anything to be so impressed with. Then he tasted his own and had to fight the urge to moan as his ridiculous ability in the kitchen continued to strike at the oddest of times. The tea the Archmage had made for him had been delightful; this transcended that and went into an entirely new scale. He didn't even know what he'd done differently!

"As you seem to have gathered, however, this is a business visit rather than a social one, I fear. Tell me, Link, did you have any plans for the day?" Link shook his head. Sure, he'd planned to go to the library, but in all honesty anything that would wear down the King of Skyloft this much over the course of a morning was far more important than those plans. Research could be done later, and even should he not be able to get any done for the rest of the week, all it would take was posting his own job request to the board and he could get a condensed version of the knowledge he wanted.

"I see. I wonder then, would you be willing to take on a job for me? It will be dangerous, but you will receive the full pay required for it and then some extra for the inconvenience." Link frowned at the man. How should he approach this…

"I am, Headmaster, but you don't need to pay me for it. I already have too many rupees as it is." Gaepora was the one to frown at him now, shaking his head.

"You will receive payment for this, Link, that is non-negotiable. Skyloft makes it a point to pay everyone hired to do a job on behalf of the Crown, and this will not be an exception. Especially because of the fact that I am being forced to approach you during a week where you are meant to be relaxing, or at the most training." Link's frown softened back into the general apathy of this face, and Gaepora nodded.

"I am grateful for your acceptance, however. Now, allow me to explain the situation, as well as just why I am coming to you of all people." The man took another sip of his tea, then paused.

"Perhaps we should sit down, however. This will not be a swift conversation." They walked to the living area, Gaepora settling into an armchair and Link onto the couch, and the explanation began.

"First off, are you familiar with the term "Monster Party"?" Link shook his head, Gaepora nodding.

"I would imagine not, such things have not yet been covered. Very well then, I shall start there. As you are aware, Skyloft has been facing Incursions for thousands of years at this point, with a total of 26 of them over the past 25,000 years. A Monster Party is the term we use for large groups of monsters in the times between Incursions; some centuries have more than others, but there are usually at least two of them a century. The highest number on record, however, is 27, and large numbers of them are usually an indication of the beginning of the Incursion." Link nodded slowly, his mind processing that.

"To be classified as a Monster Party, there must be at least five hundred monsters of different types grouped together, something that is far from common." Link's eyes widened, shocked horror in his mind. Five hundred? At least? Forget the normal games, that was the equivalent of Hyrule Warriors! And Skyloft fought several of these each century? Considering how the scale of strength was set up, from Soldier to Champion…that made for a terrifying reality.

If one of these Monster Parties had a bad composition of something like a Lynel leading it with mostly Lizalfos, that would be a death knell for a great many Skylians. It only grew worse when one considered the possibility of different colors of monsters appearing. A hundred black Lizalfos, for example, would be a terrifying thing by themselves. Add in a few hundred blue bokoblins in support, or even worse a hundred moblins, and things began to escalate far too quickly for comfort.

Which…probably led to why Gaepora was here, honestly. It made sense; Link was an army killer, after all. If the way people had acted around him was to be believed, it only made sense for him to be approached for this, especially with the fact that he had the Champion's Abilities. Daruk's Protection would ensure he took minimal injuries, Mipha's Grace would ensure he could heal what wounds he did take, and Urbosa's Fury would see him carving through the large numbers of enemies with ease. So he nodded, understanding it now.

"So you want me to kill the monster party, then? Okay." His words were casual, understanding. It made sense for the King to feel guilty over it, after all, but it was rather silly of him. Link could handle it, probably easily as well.

As such, it was safe to say he didn't expect Gaepora to blanch, to look at him with a horrified expression, and visibly swallow down the first five things he wanted to say. The man took a fortifying sip of tea, and then another, and then he breathed deeply for a few seconds. What had he done wrong, to engender that reaction?

"Link, my boy…I understand why you would assume that…" Brown eyes stared at him; sadness, horror, disappointment, and worse swirling within him. A pit opened up in Link's stomach, wondering why his just asking that had resulted in him being looked at like this for the first time since he'd arrived here.

"Please, however, do not take offense when I state this." Gaepora leaned forward, teacup set upon the side table, and stared into him. The previous storm of emotions vanished, only resolve and certainty held with steely brown orbs.

"I would rather die on the field of battle than ever come to a Knight Trainee to single-handedly take on a Monster Party, no matter how strong they are. You are incredibly strong; the single best warrior in all of Skyloft, in fact. I cannot, and will not, do you the disservice of denying that." That gulf in his gut eased remarkably quickly, but Gaepora wasn't done.

"You are, however, still a child. You are a fifteen year old boy at the tail end of his first year of the Knight Academy, my daughter's best friend, and more importantly than all of that, you are my son in all but blood. Ideally, in a few years, you will be my son in law as well as emotion, but please believe me when I say that even if you were little more than a random student of the Academy at your level of strength I still would not throw you against a Monster Party so callously." Link blinked, and blinked again, eyes stinging for some reason. Gaepora held his gaze for several moments, the force of his honesty impressed down upon Link with strength, but he leaned back after that.

"I am grateful for your words; truly, I am, and please do not let my denial make you believe I am not. Skyloft is not so weak, however, that we cannot handle a mere Monster Party without you, dear boy." Link nodded slowly. He hadn't expected that; he'd pricked the man's pride as a King, apparently, as well as his protective instincts. He…he hadn't really expected the man to have those toward him, regardless of how kind Gaepora had been towards him.

"I'm sorry, I just thought it would make the most sense." Gaepora shook his head, eyes still incredibly intense.

"There is no need to apologize, Link. From a purely logical standpoint, it would make the most sense to send you out to handle it. You could probably handle it with minimal issue and be back in time to make dinner for my daughter, which she would then brag about to me tomorrow and continue to make me jealous over not being able to enjoy your cooking anymore." Amusement reluctantly bubbled up within Link at the thought of that; Zelda teasing her father about how she got to eat good food every day and Gaepora pouting at her was an amusing image.

"To do so would be to do a disservice to a great many people, however, you most of all. The soldiers who have trained for years to defend their nation, the Knights who have done the same…even myself and the Royal Guard, in truth. What good is a King who cannot defend their people, after all?" Link could understand that, he supposed. Experience was a thing, and was a thing that they needed if the Skylian army was to have a snowball's chance in hell of continuing to survive. Something told him that training could only bring you so far of the way towards the level of a Knight Commander, after all, to say nothing of a Champion.

"Then what do you need from me?" Gaepora frowned, the grimness of earlier settling back over him, and took another sip of tea.

"Unfortunately, you were not wrong in that I am here to ask you to fight, it is simply not the Monster Party. To resume my explanation, we have a Monster Party approaching Skyloft from the south. That in and of itself is no issue; we have known about it for two weeks now and have been preparing to ambush it. Preparations have been made, and this afternoon I shall be flying out alongside Archmage Hinea to ensure that things go the way they should. The issue comes from the other two events occurring, both of which have popped up recently." Hinea was strong; what was this monster part composed of for both the King of Skyloft and the Archmage to head out to fight it?

"The first issue is a Silver Lizalfos led force coming from the west. It is not anywhere close to the level of a Monster Party, admittedly, but it is a Silver Lizalfos leading a pack of a hundred other Lizalfos, of varying colors and elements, so it is far from a weak force. They are moving quickly, and are going to be intercepted by a company led by General Ita tomorrow. We have only known about them for a week, so it was a bit of a concern to decide where to intercept them considering how quickly they are moving." Link frowned.

"Wouldn't the Knights be able to do that?" Gaepora shook his head.

"Yes and no. In terms of speed, certainly, they could absolutely intercept and eliminate them. Unfortunately, the Lizalfos have been keeping to a rather dense forest, meaning that the Loftwings would be of minimal use there. As such, General Ita is leading the army detachment while I lead a sizable force in the south to handle the Party." Oh. He hadn't even considered that. Loftwings, as powerful as they were, wouldn't be worth much in a dense forest. Honestly, considering the way Lizalfos could camouflage themselves, that was going to be a nasty fight.

"A good thought, however, and no small amount of consideration was put into which method to go with. There are, after all, several places where the Knights could intercept them, but the risks of the Lizalfos choosing a different route were judged to be too high." That made sense. Still, if both of those were being handled, what exactly was the worry? Gaepora continued, enlightening him.

"The Monster Party in the south has a significant number of high level monsters, which is why I am leading the forces accompanied by the Royal Guard. Hinea is going because of the fact that there are a notable number of Wizzrobes in that group. Unfortunately, this leaves us with a lack of highly skilled combatants to put down the three Hinox that have just wandered into our northern borders." Link winced; yeah, that would do it. As he'd been told yesterday, and noted himself, Hinox could and would decimate the local environment, and those were not something that you wanted to wait on putting down.

Gaepora leaned forward once more, brown eyes intense, and Link found his attention recaptured.

"Please understand that this is not a requirement, Link. The Hinox can wait if you do not feel up to fighting them. The Royal Guard, Hinea, General Ita, and myself will be fully capable of putting them down as early as tomorrow or the day after, should you not be willing to fight. You have had a busy few days, and not a single soul would begrudge you a day of actual relaxation." Link smiled, soft and gentle. If it was important enough for Gaepora to actually come and ask him, despite how much it visibly was weighing upon him, then it was clearly important enough to do today.

"I'm fine doing it. I'm kind of surprised that that is all there is to it, in all honesty." It wasn't exactly a threat after all…well, not to him. Gaepora frowned, leaning back again now that his point had been made.

"Thank you, Link. Truly, thank you. While we can deal with them, it is far better to put Hinox down as quickly as possible lest they cause severe damage to our people. They are close enough to livestock pasture ground that even a few days would likely be devastating to the area." Link nodded in understanding; it certainly made sense.

"However, that is not quite all there is to it. The Hinox, and their accompanying groups, are the target, but I was wondering if you would mind taking a look around the area." A frown creased the man's face, chewing over something in his mind.

"Hinox are slow creatures; they move only when the local area is no longer capable of supporting them. To have three of them show up at once, so close to our borders, when they have all passed through land that would have supported them for a while…it is odd. We have records in the past of other, more intelligent, monsters guiding the Hinox, so to speak. Trails of food guiding them to places that the monsters want them to go, which has always led the beasts into conflict with us." Link was the one to frown now, his brain rolling that around.

Monsters guiding monsters…if that was true, these Hinox likely wouldn't be the last. There was, however, the chance that those monsters were still around, and Link could most likely deal with whatever they were.

"Do you know what types of monsters are the ones to do that?" Gaepora shook his head, an apology written upon his features.

"Unfortunately not. The only clear indicator of that is intelligence; there are many monsters that meet that requirement." Link nodded understandingly; there wasn't much you could do about that.

"Now, as for payment. As you are a Trainee still, this will be treated as a Bounty Board post, equivalent to three A-Rank Hunts and a B-Rank information gathering mission, with the ranking of that one changing to A-Rank as well if you find the monster that has lured the Hinox in and eliminate it." Link narrowed his eyes. He did not need eighty thousand more rupees, thank you very much. The problem was…what else was he even supposed to request?

It wasn't like he had all that much to…wait a minute. He hadn't bothered to request a bow yesterday, he could always use more storage space, and he was sure the King had something stored away.

"How about, instead of Rupees that you need to pay other people, you give me items?" Gaepora frowned at him, incredibly stern.

"I will not devalue your efforts, Link. You are doing the entirety of Skyloft a favor, you deserve to be compensated." Link shook his head.

"I'm not asking you to. I mean, instead of paying me rupees, pay me in magical items. Stuff like Darknut weapons, or Lynel weapons; perhaps even paying for more enchanted gear." Gaepora mulled that over, but sharp brown eyes pinned Link to his chair.

"That is acceptable, but do not for an instant think you will be able to get away with requesting less than what your efforts are worth. Furthermore, you will be getting paid in Rupees for at least one of the jobs." Link winced, but nodded. He was hoping for better, but he would take what he could get.

"That means you will have, at a bare minimum, fifty-five thousand rupees worth of gear. The Crown gets a discount on enchanted equipment, so that will be factored in. Do you have any ideas as to what you would want?" Link nodded.

"Darknut weapons, for a start. They hold up better than anything else I've tried so far." Gaepora nodded understandingly.

"Yes, I imagine they would. I can easily provide you with ten of those to make up for one A-Rank reward." Link's eyes widened, looking at him incredulously. Ten? He'd gotten four yesterday for fifteen thousand! Gaepora just narrowed his eyes at him, daring him to protest, and Link was forced to stay silent.

"Enchanted bows, the more durable the better. Same with any other weapons or shields." Gaepora nodded, considering.

"I believe you will also need a place to store all of this gear you are accumulating, my boy." Link grimaced, nodding. He had…well, he had a lot already. Five Darknut blades, a darknut shield, multiple Lizal weapons, multiple Knight weapons, some soldier weapons he'd picked up, and then the Lynel weapons. That wasn't even counting what he was going to be finding today, either. Adding in even more would be a bit much, he felt, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. If he had to fight two lynels in a row, the Darknut blade would break.

"Oh, I need potions too. Weapon and Shield repairing, mainly." Gaepora nodded, mind still on the point he had brought forth.

"I believe that I have an idea. In exchange for the mission I have provided you, I shall arrange for you to have a storehouse built. I know of several construction companies that have been trying to get additional jobs recently, and each of them will be delighted to have a rush order. It will be a bit more than a house normally is, as I am aware you are a bit of a hoarder, I believe…three floors ought to do it." Link blinked; a hoarder? Him? He'd spent his entire life hoarding one thing; money.

Then he blinked, indignation fading faster than it had risen up. Link was, canonically, a hoarder considering he collected basically everything in each game. Combine that with the fact that he'd already collected a variety of weapons, materials, and rupees in a grand total of three days and it wasn't exactly an accusation he could deny. Three floors felt like a bit much, though…

"No, three floors and a basement. That way I can make sure you have rooms for everything you could possibly collect." Gaepora's shake of the head as he started the sentence, followed by the arrow to the heart of his words, proved that no, it could always go lower. Amusement and spite bubbled up in equal measure; now he just had to make sure that all of Gaepora's efforts on providing him enough storage were put to good use, didn't he?

"Combined with the enchanted storage chests, crates, and pouches…hmm. Will you be wanting cold larders as well? I recall that you used to hunt quite a bit when you were younger, though thankfully Zelda managed to break that habit eventually." Link frowned, considering, before nodding.

"Not even just for meat. I grabbed jobs for Truffle and Ironshroom gathering the other day and kept some for us, so it's probably better to have it." Gaepora nodded, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Probably a good idea then, yes. Very well, I shall draw up the plans, arrange for construction, and provide you with the Key and location once it is finished." Then seriousness returned to the man, eying him quite strongly.

"It will not, however, include a bedroom or a kitchen. You are not allowed to move out; both Zelda and I would miss you far too much." Link found himself chuckling at how intense Gaepora was over that, but warmth flared up in him regardless. It was nice to be wanted.

"This will, all told, require about thirty thousand rupees. Add in the Darknut blades to bring it to the equivalent of fifty thousand, leaving you a minimum of five thousand rupees to spend, depending. That is enough to get one enchanted weapon or shield; do you have a preference?" The storehouse was expensive, at least in terms of Skyloft's economy, but if he was getting multiple enchanted storage spaces and four floors, it made sense. He hadn't exactly seen many houses be four stories tall, after all.

"A bow." Gaepora nodded, an amused smile spreading across his face.

"Yes, you did not ask for one yesterday, Archmage Hinea was quite surprised. She had been under the impression you liked archery." Heat rose to life in his face, Link's eyes looking somewhere other than Gaepora's face. Warm chuckles filled the room, the King shaking his head.

"I take it you forgot? It is no problem, my boy, nobody is perfect." Link just blushed harder, and Gaepora laughed a bit more before he regained his seriousness.

"Still, Link…" The change in tone caused Link to look back at him once more, the King's expression once again intense.

"Thank you, truly thank you, for doing this. I told you yesterday that I have no desire for you to burden yourself trying to fix all of the Kingdom's problems, and I meant it. Were it not for the Monster Party to the south requiring significant force to put down without large casualties I would not be here at all. So, on behalf of Skyloft, thank you." Link blushed once more, but it was for a very different reason this time.

Why was gratitude so difficult to deal with? The only thank you's he'd gotten in his first life had been superficial ones, but here even those hit him differently. Zelda's gratitude for cooking for her was enough to make him blush and fidget, and Gaepora's gratitude for killing a few dozen monsters was strong enough to have a King expressing it more sincerely than anyone in his original world ever had.

Gaepora remained for a few more minutes, finishing his tea and engaging in small talk. He was remarkably interested, and somewhat exasperated, to learn that Link was learning Reason, though he wouldn't explain why he was exasperated by it. The King simply told him to not feel pressured, to learn it at his own pace, and to ignore Hinea should she start trying to push him towards a specialty. He needed to find his own place there.

The King also provided him with the location of the monsters, linking up to the bracelet. The A-Level Compass, as it was called, though it did so much more than that. Honestly, who even created something like that? The King just laughed, stating that he had not been the one to name it.

Soon enough, however, the man left, and Link was left to get ready to go. Five Darknut blades and one shield, two Lynel bows and shields, and a Knights bow as a just in case. It should be more than enough to take them all down, depending on what the other monster was. Hmm…he was running a little low on shields in comparison to his weaponry. Perhaps he should ask Gaepora if he could buy Darknut shields as well. No matter.

A handful of repair potions were put into a pouch, and all too soon he was saddling up Sylph, the loftwing as wonderfully affectionate as always. The two took to the skies with a solid focus, a goal in mind. After all, the quicker they did this, the quicker they could get to the fun stuff. He had, after all, intended to go flying once more later today, and Sylph knew that. Just as she seemed to know things at random about him, she could feel his anticipation for later.

They made record time, and all too soon it was time to fight.

~~The Eternal Game~~

Hinox continued to disgust him.

It should go without saying that three massive monsters that existed only to eat, sleep, and kill would be disgusting. Even from here, the scent alone was strong enough to turn his stomach. Combine that with the fact that one of them was awake and eating while the other two slept, however, and it became truly nasty. Once again a single bite from the massive creature crunched through flesh, bone, and sinew with ease, a poor deer ripped apart by teeth large enough to obliterate it. The monster chewed with its mouth open too, bits of blood and saliva drooling down onto its chest.

Link couldn't decide what was weirder; the fact that the three Hinox were all in one spot, or the fact that there were no other monsters present. He'd been told, and seen with his own eyes, that Hinox were usually accompanied by other monsters. Moblins and Bokoblins, normally, because those were the ones that got along best with them. To see three Hinox here, in a clearing stained with blood, fur, and random animal parts, was concerning even for him.

Perhaps especially for him, considering what Gaepora had told him less than an hour ago. Sylph had, as usual, made excellent time, and even now was circling above him, eager to fight. He'd asked her to look for any more monsters, however, and she was doing so. The bond would let her warn him, after all, but she was staying close enough that she could dive to his aide in a handful of seconds.

If there had been any doubt about them being lured, however, it was gone now. The deer the beast was eating was one of the last remnants of what had clearly been a massive pile of wildlife that all three had happily pigged out on. Judging by the impression he was getting, that odd sense that told him things his mind couldn't fully explain, there had been enough animals there to feed a village for several days, if not a full week.

It was difficult to catalog that sense, sometimes. Well, all the time, but sometimes it was more helpful than others. Right now it was just giving him pain, death, and famine. Looking a bit closer at the circle of blood, between the three Hinox, however, let him get an imprint of entire herds of deer, stacked significantly taller than he was. Which was concerning on a lot of levels, after all.

Still, he had a job to do and he didn't want to waste time. So he went, walking carefully and quietly, towards one of the sleeping Hinox. Considering the way they were laid out, in something like a triangle with two of them flat on their backs and unconscious, he wasn't even in the view of the sole monster awake. It was ridiculously easy to sneak up on them, in truth.

His hand drew out the Darknut blade, resting comfortably in his left hand. A moment of thought, a minor drain, and the blade was at its full size. For someone of Link's strength, it was a trivial effort to assassinate the Hinox. He wasn't limited by game mechanics; there was no health bar to whittle down, or guaranteed awakening of the monster in time to stop an instant kill.

No, all there was was the horrificly wet squelch of steel embedding itself in the monster's eye deep into its brain and a gush of fluids. Link found himself quite happy when a red barrier formed between his clothing and the liquid; he hadn't even considered that being an issue, but he was happy it wasn't. The creature's massive gut stopped moving; no noise, no bellows, no warning; just death.

The other monsters, one asleep and the other more focused on the remnants of the food, didn't even notice the death. This was why Hinox needed other monsters nearby, clearly; they were far too simple minded to notice a problem. Then again, perhaps that was uncharitable. He'd known plenty of people who wouldn't notice something as quiet as what that had been.

Link frowned, looking at the eye. That…that had been harder than he expected. Literally so, in fact, as if there had been some kind of natural barrier over the Hinox's eye. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing though; they were a pretty major weak spot on a monster that was otherwise incredibly durable.

He walked around, careful to avoid the eyesight of the sole monster awake, and it was the work of another minute to put down the second monster. He made sure to stay out of the way of the backsplash this time, even as another set of ponderous breathing went silent, leaving only the crunching and loud mouth-breathing of the one remaining Hinox to pollute the clearing.

He drew out the Darknut blade, shrinking it once more and flicking off the blood, and eyed the sole remaining beast. Killing it would be more irritating, but not particularly troublesome. He could get behind it easily enough, and from there it was just a matter of using Revali's Gale to get high enough to kill it.

Honestly, sending him for this felt like a bit much, but better someone who could trivialize it than a group of people who would die to it. Link imagined that this would be significantly more difficult without being able to wield something that could pierce all the way to the brain and being strong enough to get through that barrier. Still, this wouldn't take long at all, and he would be left plenty of time to go flying with Sylph.

Which, naturally, was when things started to go wrong.

The first warning he had was alarm rushing through the bond; the second was the sound of cackling from behind him, monstrous and inhuman, and the pounding of armored feet against the earth. Link didn't hesitate, didn't even really have time to register anything other than that. Winds roared to life beneath his feet and he was flying, body twisting even as he heard something roar beneath him.

The Hinox he'd just slain erupted into black flames and sparking yellow electricity, the clank of armor barely hearable above it. A few seconds later and a furious roar sounded out, and Link's right hand grabbed the shield just in time. His eyes caught sight of seven monsters before the hand of the blue Hinox collided with his shield and sent him flying.

The hit was the single hardest he'd taken so far; it didn't hurt, but it catapulted him out of the gale at a speed he would have to work to move at. The world blurred beneath him as he traveled hundreds of yards in a few seconds, and he hit the ground hard, rolling several times before he finally managed to halt the momentum.

He turned, eyes widening as he spotted opponents only a little behind him, the earth itself shaking as the Hinox ponderously charged as well. Not one, not two, not even three, but four Darknuts were racing towards him, backed up by a Wizzrobe of each element. Fire crackled, Lightning snapped, and Ice cracked beneath their hovering feet as they changed the very environment from their sheer presence.

This…this was a lot. Link shook out his right arm, body settling into a stance, before a thought crossed his mind. He was about to take them on alone, wasn't he? That was stupid, he had an ally waiting eagerly to be called in. Why not let her fight? His eyes focused on the Hinox, intent crossing his mind, and Sylph answered with glee.

Hero and Loftwing both charged forth, one from the ground and one from the sky, and the monsters answered. Link crashed into his chosen target with a boom of metal, the charging twelve foot monster stumbling back as it buckled beneath the force of a Hero slamming it with a shield bash. Link's own blade was forced to counter a strike, and the fight began between them.

Left, right, up, below, left and left and right and right; Link was forced to push harder than ever before to defend himself. Not even the Royal Guard yesterday had pushed him this hard, and that was before he was forced to call upon Daruk's protection to block a shard of ice the size of his torso.

Sylph wasn't about to be left out, however. The Hinox approached, but from the skies she struck, slamming home like a bolt of lighting. A crimson spear of feathers and magic, slamming into the beast's head hard enough to obliterate it instantly, and then she was moving again. The Wizzrobes shrieked, turning to face the new threat, trusting in the Darknuts to end Link.

It was, naturally, a mistake Link wouldn't let them live to regret making. Even as they began to cast fire, lightning, and ice at his partner, even as Sylph proved why she was the partner of the Hero and dodged them all with ease, Link let Urbosa's Fury free. More power than ever before drained from him, and the boom that followed shook the world as lightning struck the Darknut at his back. It died instantly, not even a moment to recognize its fate, and Link pressed his advantage.

His body moved, dancing around a blade striking out and backflipping over another, letting the world slow. He didn't have long; Urbosa's Fury had taken much of the magic that he would normally use for this, but at his speed it was more than enough. As the world sped back up, three sets of plate armor hit the grass, three darknuts leaping back to reassess him.

Link let them make space, his eyes on something else. Revali's Gale flickered to life and he moved, blade extending out into the full size of a greatsword designed for a twelve foot monster. Three wizzrobes were cleaved in half in an instant, and Sylph took advantage of the opening he'd left.

Powerful wings flapped, crimson magic manifesting in the air as blades formed upon those wings, and she carved through two of the remaining darknuts like a flaming blade through butter. Black blood coated the world, a screech of triumph ringing in the air, and Link was left looking at the sole remaining monster. It didn't shake or shiver in fear, despite how quickly and easily its comrades had fallen. Instead it refocused, feet adjusting to take a far more guarded stance.

Link's head tilted, considering, and then he obliged it. He moved, his body at the same pace as he had fought the Darknut two days ago, and blade clashed against blade, his once more a broadsword more suited to his size than theirs. Blade crashed against blade, blade against shield, shield against shield, thunderous booms and the groans of protesting metal filling up his ears.

His heart beat at the same calm pace it always had, his body not even sweating. This wasn't enough to push him, not truly. If he hadn't moved to kill the Wizzrobes, if Sylph hadn't immediately turned and carved through the other two Darknuts, this might have actually been a fight worth having. Might have pushed him properly, might have even injured him.

Instead, the Darknut fell as Link's blade carved through its thigh, and he disarmed it a moment later. The Darknut didn't try to escape; didn't try to run or fight back. Its arms spread out, head bowing, and it accepted its fate. Link considered it for a moment, wondering.

"Can you understand me?" The head rose, considering him, still fully armored by the plate helmet rather than the chainmail cover. The monster nodded, however, and Link asked a second question.

"Can you speak?" A shake this time, but that was fine. Link hadn't really expected it to be able to, after all. He wasn't even sure where he was going for this, what he even wanted to know. What did you ask a monster that was trying to kill your entire race? Darknuts were visibly more honorable than other monsters, as proven by the fact that it wasn't trying to kill him and was even answering his questions, to say nothing of what the other one had done, but…it was still a monster. Still little more than a beast that wouldn't hesitate to murder him, or even to gang up on him, as they had just proven.

"I see. I'm sorry you are about to die, but using Hinox the way you were is a bit beneath you, I feel." A strange amusement and shame radiated from the monster, and it nodded. Its head bowed once more, and Link made it quick. A second later the black helmet was rolling across the ground, and a few seconds after that all of the bodies broke apart into black smoke.

Link frowned, uncertain as to how to feel. He genuinely was sorry to kill the Darknut, he found. Not so much this one, but definitely the other three. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they felt like more than the other monsters? Intelligent, somewhat honorable…they were basically a dark variant of a Knight, just stronger. Perhaps it was because, out of all the monsters he'd seen so far, they were the only ones who didn't feel like monsters.

The Wizzrobes felt, for lack of a better term, slimy as he'd looked at them. Bokoblins and Moblins just gave forth feelings of scum of the earth. Lynel felt dangerous and destructive, Talus like a natural disaster, Chuchu were abominations now that they had acid slime, and Lizalfos an alien intelligence that felt odd. Darknuts, on the other hand, felt sad.

Not even from them; they gave off elements of duty, of intensity. Every one he'd met so far had been all about fighting him and trying to kill him…but both of the ones who he had beaten fairly had acted like the idea of a Knight would. It was probably all in his head, however. No doubt he was confusing them with a story he'd read, or the fact that they were vaguely canine in nature and it felt wrong to kill anything dog-like.

No matter; the job was done, and he had loot to gather. Four Knights Crests, four Darknut swords and shields; amusing, considering his earlier thoughts about lacking shields. This time, however, they had dropped more. A pulsating heart from one, a sizable bone from another, a finger from the third. It was only the fourth, the final one he'd slain, that dropped no extra parts. In comparison, however, the Knights Crest it held was noticeably larger, two thirds again the size of the other two in fact.

He wasn't sure if that even meant anything, but he'd take it anyway. The Wizzrobes had dropped two fingers each, one crackling with their respective elements and one just holding a light impression of power. They had also dropped rods; Lightning, Fire, and Ice. That could be fun, assuming he could figure out how to work them.

Hinox parts continued to be disgusting, but into his pouches they went regardless. It took him a few minutes of walking to get back to where the other two had been, but he did and collected even more disgusting parts. He was so very, very, happy about that. He asked Sylph to find him a stream or large puddle before he mounted her again, he had zero desire to taint her feathers with Hinox juices.

Soon enough, however, he and Sylph were flying once more. Soon after that, they were amongst the clouds, monsters shredded to pieces by the bird of legends and her partner. Joy and happiness filled both of their hearts, and the pair had a truly wonderful afternoon. The Darknuts, Wizzrobes, and Hinox were pushed to the back of his mind. After all, they hadn't really been a threat, and even if they had, the threat was over.

There was no need to worry about them when there were a thousand and one better uses of their time, after all.

~~The Eternal Game~~

The needle moved, left to right, right to left, words whispered under two tongues.

She had to get this right, it was for Link.

She had to get this right, for it was for Link.

This was her first time weaving. This was her millionth time weaving. A cloak, for her precious Link, who deserved the world. A cloak, for her chosen Knight, who was far more important than he knew.

There was so much to consider. There was nothing to consider. She had to make sure that the enchantments took properly, and had to make sure she didn't corrupt the purity of the material with monster parts. She had to weave the cloth without risking tainting the pure soul that she was touching, and she had done that more times than she could count.

She had done this before. This was her first time doing it. Time, an eternal cycle that knows neither beginning nor end, actions taken and repeated throughout eternity. It was simply a matter of connecting two points, a refrain, and acting in unison. A foundation set in the present, to be fortified in the past, or was it the other way around?

Zelda did not know, nor did she have any idea as to just what she was creating. A miracle of Faith and Love, a tool to be used and a shield to be enjoyed. The needle moved, left to right and right to left, thread pulled along behind it and prayers whispered under her breath.

She never would have expected weaving a cloak to be so difficult, but with the power she was pouring into it constantly it was the single most difficult thing she had ever done. She would not stop, however; her Link deserved her best, and so much more than just that. He deserved everything that she could give him, deserved everything that Skyloft could give him.

Flashes passed by her eyes, incoherent thoughts and images going ignored as she worked. A lazy boy with a crimson bird, a girl who looked at him with adoring eyes. A boy cast adrift in a world, not understanding anything but battle, forced to fight and fight and fight by the choices of those around him. A villager with a horse and a best friend, sent on a horrible journey.

Knight after Knight after Knight, in armor and in tunics, fighting against the monsters. The cloak was one, the cloak was many, just as her Link was one, and her Link was many. She did not understand the weaving, did not understand what was being created, but that was okay. The force guiding her did, understood more than anything else just how important this was.

And so they worked, as one and apart, to make a cloak fit for a Hero. A simple task, an impossible task, yet one they took and retook with contentment each time. A cycle, for now and forever, but limited all the same.

The needle moved, left to right, right to left, words whispered under two tongues.

She had to get this right, for it was for her beloved.

She had to get this right, for it was for her beloved.

~~The Eternal Game~~

A Monster Party.

Gaepora had been entirely honest with Link earlier when he had told the boy he would rather die before he sent Link at this force single handedly. Link was strong; impossibly so, in fact. So strong that Gaepora's own considerable might was nothing in comparison. To throw a child against this force, alone, however? That would go against every single oath he had made upon taking up the Crown. It would destroy the entire foundation he had forged his life from, and so many others besides.

Despite that, however, there was a part of Gaepora that selfishly wished he had taken the dear boy up on his thoughtless offer. Link and a mere Talon would no doubt be able to take on the force arrayed against them with ease, even if Gaepora would not allow that to happen without himself being there just in case his boy needed help.

Instead, however, the forces of Skyloft stood prepared to meet the upcoming forces without him, and that was no small thing. In the woods and grass around him was a considerable showing of Skylofts forces. A full battalion stood ready, though only three companies stood nearby. Three more had circled around to the rear of the foe, and one on each flank awaited the signal to charge. Two full Talons waited in the skies to bring down the fury of the Knighthood, and still Gaepora worried that this might not be enough.

1,608 soldiers, 610 if you counted himself and Archmage Hinea, stood against a mere 887 foes. Two hundred blue bokoblins, 80 moblins, three hundred lizalfos, three hundred red bokoblins, six Wizzrobes, and an Iron Knuckle leading them all. A considerable force, just over half the forces that Gaepora had arranged to strike at them today, and with the Wizzrobes and the Iron Knuckle they had both magical support and tactical leadership.

Iron Knuckles; truly, a rare monster. Gaepora would rather face a Darknut than one of those beasts, but thankfully it was the standard gray variant. Still incredibly strong, but lacking the speed that made the Darknut such a terrifying foe to face. It had strength to make up for it, however; standing at the same 12 feet as the average Darknut, it was half again as strong and fought at half the pace. Its armor, however, lacked the weakness of the Darknut, meaning that whoever fought it had to shatter the armor through brute force or target the weak points.

Then again, that was why he was here. His eyes took in the Royal Claymore he wielded, one of the precious few weapons of that line remaining. They did not have the materials to forge these anymore, had not had them since Din's Endurance fell to the monsters. They held enchantments better than any other weapon type, however, and this one in particular was enchanted with the aspect of Force.

It was not the most complex enchantment, truly, but perhaps that was what had caused it to be so strong. It took the force that the weapon was swung with and amplified it, resulting in his prodigious strength being intensified upon the moment of impact. This weapon had allowed him to shatter shields, armor, weapons, and more, being the only person to have broken straight through a Darknuts armor rather than needing to target the weak point. Admittedly, that record probably would not stand for long, but he was still proud of it.

An Iron Knuckle was more of a general than a fighter. It was strong, incredibly so in fact, requiring a warrior of Commander level or higher to be able to beat it, but it truly shined in tactics and command. It was why this beast had gained such a powerful following, and part of what made them such a rare breed. Skyloft was well and truly fortunate that intelligent monsters were the exception rather than the norm, otherwise they would have fallen long ago.

His eyes found the monsters, the first of them coming into view out of the trees. Red bokoblins, the fodder of the monsters. None of them would make it to clash with the lines, but then that was the point of them. They absorbed the shock of the first set of arrows in combat, because even with how weak they were they could still kill if they got close enough.

Thankfully, however, with nearly two arrows per monster, this would be over quickly. It was the real reason why he had brought so many, after all. It was a beautiful day when they could afford to outnumber the monsters rather than being outnumbered. It ensured that far fewer casualties would be sustained.

Even now, however, Gaeopora did not believe they would walk away unscathed. The quality of monsters involved ensured that a sizable number of them would not be brought low by arrows, especially with Wizzrobes backing them up. Elemental they may be, but they were still capable of a twisted variant of Reason that they could use to great effect.

"Stop focusing on the negative." The chiding voice of Hinea, his oldest living friend, was as welcome as it was irritating sometimes. Today it was more welcome, however, because it meant that he had a solid answer to the Wizzrobes.

"I am allowed to brood, it is one of the few rights that being King affords me." A scoff was his response, half amused and half dismissive, and it brought a smile to his lips. He could remember his father spending a lot of time brooding, and his younger self never understanding why. It was unfortunate that he had learned the reason so early; Gaepora hoped he lived a long and healthy life, solely to avoid creasing his daughter's brow with the weight of the Crown for as long as possible.

"Perhaps you should focus more on the upcoming battle rather than your fears of the worst." Gaepora just chuckled.

"Perhaps you should focus more on your efforts to improve the magic of Skyloft rather than relying on a child to do it for you." He could feel the glare she sent him, and it gave him a great deal of amusement.

"It's hardly my fault that Heroes are built differently. Did I mention that it took Link twenty minutes to master the calculations to tell time?" Gaepora felt the urge to roll his eyes, and with nobody in front of him he indulged in it. Had she mentioned it?

"Only about a dozen times over the course of the meeting last night. Just because it took you two hours does not mean you should be so bitter. Some people are just better at magic than you are, accept it." A betrayed sputter fueled his good humor even further. Two hours had been prodigious, a record that had stood untouched as the third fastest time to manage the most basic reason spell in over ten thousand years. So, naturally, Link had done what he did best and shattered both it and the two records that stood above it.

"He is something hand-crafted by the Goddess to be perfect at everything he does, of course he would be better at it than I am. That's why I want him to learn it in the first place, and you know that." Perfect? Link? That provided more amusement than anything else so far.

Gaepora would give the boy credit where it was due; Link was a wonderful individual. Even before this week, in fact. He was kind, considerate, and he did the best he could with what he had. The fact that his best was so far beyond everybody else's was not his fault, nor was it his fault that his mind had been weakened.

That did not, however, mean the boy was perfect. He could still remember Link learning how to read and write. It had taken a ridiculous amount of time and effort for him to manage, the boy made to pay for his physical gifts with a crippled mind and emotions. It was the main reason why he had been against trying to make the boy learn Reason, after all; it would be an exercise in frustration for him.

Yet this week had proved him wrong on a lot of things. Link was blossoming in a way he had honestly never expected to see. It was funny, in a way. He had always imagined that Link would forever be there, either right beside his daughter or one step behind her when she was dragging him somewhere, yet here he was, showing initiative. Link had snapped into the present with a terrifying focus, and proceeded to show everyone just why he was the one and only person classified at the level of Hero.

Honestly, that boy. A Darknut, a Hinox, a Talus, and then two Lynels. Any one of those fights would be all he could manage in a single day, yet Link was speeding through them at a ridiculous pace. Then the other missions on the side; if he kept this up Gaepora would have to dip into his personal treasury to pay out the rewards just to avoid depleting the Royal Treasury. Not that he minded; it was a truly wonderful problem to have, honestly.

It just served to remind him, however, that a bored Link was not a Link he wanted to have. It had been years since it had happened, but he had fond memories of the entirety of the castle staff looking on bewildered as one child did every chore in the castle out of pure boredom since Zelda had been taking lessons he was not allowed to join.

"I do not believe that he is perfect at everything he does, Archmage Hinea, but I will admit he is quite skilled at most things." Another scoff, but he could feel her agreement. She knew as well as he did that there had been something interfering with his brain; it was almost guaranteed, now.

She had taken a cursory glance at him the day before; nothing as in depth as the healers scan, but then she did not need to. Hinea, after all, was incredibly skilled. She had not become the Archmage through his favor, she had earned the privilege and burden of command. A cursory glance from her was a lesser healers in depth scan, and she had confirmed what he had feared. The darkness in Link's mind was less now, and slowly draining away.

Somehow, some way, the enemy had managed to lay a curse upon a hero. In the back of his mind, the pessimistic side that he tried to avoid feeding, he knew that every Hero throughout history had shared that curse, possibly originating from the very first one. Hylia was strong, impossibly so, but the foe who had matched her was by no means weak. Every move she took was countered by the darkness, even now, after all. It was the main reason why there were monsters in the sanctuary of the skies, at least according to the theorizing of the wise.

Gaepora did not know what was coming, but Link had somehow thrown off a curse that had rendered him nearly nonfunctional, and he was beginning to learn just what he could do. The question about money yesterday had truly surprised him and, he suspected, it had surprised his daughter too. Link had never really spent his rupees on anything other than food, the cheapest art supplies he could find, and presents for himself and his daughter. To have him actually care about the rupees enough to ask how to spend them was rather telling, in truth.

"He's going to be terrifying." Hinea's voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of uncertainty. Gaepora just reached back, head turning enough to see her, and rested his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he favored her with a smile, squeezing gently.

"He will, but not for us." She laughed, the sound a bit watery, but he did not say anything about it. She had reaped the consequences of her actions yesterday, as cruel as it was to say. He hated the fact that she was still so affected by her past that it could bother her, but she was hardly the only person to have that issue. Gaepora was reasonably sure he would have flashbacks were he to come across a silver Lynel once more, so he could not fault her for her trauma. Not that he would even without it; Gaepora liked to think he was not so cruel as to do so.

He removed his hand, and Hinea let the silence settle for a few moments, eyes on the approaching horde. Gaepora believed the conversation, slow as it had been, to be over. After a few minutes, however, she spoke once more.

"He tried to enchant pure black clothing with fear, you know." Gaepora frowned; that was an odd choice. Skylians did not even use the fear enchantment, it served no purpose for them to do so. Monsters did not feel fear, at least outside of bokoblins.

"According to what he told me, monsters ran from him while he was out doing jobs." Gaepora turned to her once more, disbelieving. She nodded, a rueful smile on her face, and Gaepora found his worldview shifting once more in relation to his son. Somehow, he was not surprised.

"Fitting, then." Then the way she had phrased it set in, and frowned at her.

"Did you talk him out of it?" Shame flickered over her face, fleeting and barely present, but Gaepora nodded. She had told him it was not an option, then. He could not blame her, not truly.

"Perhaps that is for the better, then. As useful as it may be on the field, that enchantment would also cause any allies he had to fear him as well. Especially when fed by the things he can do." Hinea winced, but he did not mention it. He knew why she had done it, especially after the morning she had had, and he once again could not blame her. Besides, Link having a fear enchantment would be a problem for his allies far more than his enemies, no matter how incredible it was that he had made monsters run.

Silence settled between them until it was time for the battle to begin, and when it did it all began at once. All around the battlefield, on the ground and in the sky, bows were drawn as one and arrows were knocked. The Wizzrobes sensed the deception, sensed the magic hiding Skylian forces just a moment too late; their magics shattered the camouflage a second after arrows took flight.

1,608 arrows took flight, whistling through the sky. Gaepora watched with hardened eyes as monsters were struck down in droves, frowning as one Wizzrobe in particular managed to cast a wind spell and knock away a large number of them. It mattered not; the numbers of the Monster Party were shattered in an instant, over six hundred of them falling. An excellent volley, truly, but his eyes watched as many lizalfos batted away arrows and others dodged.

The Iron Knuckle realized the situation so very quickly, and a bestial roar rent the air, bodies beginning to move. The monsters did not retreat; they knew better than that. Instead they charged; after all, the Knuckle was not threatened by mere arrows, and the Wizzrobes could protect what was left.

Fire, lightning, and ice were cast towards them, Hinea and the other mages raising shields, the echoes of the roar sending shivers down the backs of the less experienced. Feet pounded against the ground, the earth itself shaking in the ponderous charge of the Knuckle, and a wicked cackling came from the Wizzrobes. Monsters did not feel fear; all that had been lost here was the fodder.

The second volley flew forth, aided this time by magic, but it all failed against the barrier erected by the monsters. Gaepora frowned, but issued his orders anyway. He had hoped for better, but having merely two hundred and some odd monsters was far better than nearly nine hundred. The Skylians in his group shifted to a tight formation; not quite a shield wall, that was madness with an Iron Knuckle and Wizzrobes approaching, but tight enough together that the Lizalfos would not be able to make full use of their agility.

One last volley of arrows and magic, and then Gaepora himself was stepping forth, his claymore falling into a ready position.

"Stand ready, Skylians. You are better than them, and you will survive this day. Trust in the soldier next to you, fight as one, and this will be over quickly." His voice was quiet, his magic projecting it out to be heard over the roaring monsters. A signal sent up, the Talons switching to melee, and then there was no time for anything else.

The wave of Lizalfos crashed into them like a Wing Charge, steel meeting steel, the line buckling but holding. Gaepora's blade lanced out, carving through the shield and body of one monster even as the man to his right died horribly at the end of a spear. Metal crashed against metal all down the line, thunder booming and fire crackling as the mages on both sides went to work.

From the corner of his eye he caught sight of a Sergeant standing against the wave of enemies, Ta he believed the man's name to be. Even as Gaepora blocked and countered, the man's shield and spear matched up against a blue lizalfos carrying a boomerang.

One strike, two, the lizalfos dancing inside the man's guard and clashing against his shield. The second blow got through, the man barely able to twist enough to turn it into a glancing one against his armor rather than a lethal strike, and Gaepora felt concern rising. His left hand left the hilt of his blade, mind linking to a spell of fire and finishing the last of the calculations.

Ta proved himself worthy of his rank, however, smashing his shield into the lizard and making space. Just enough space to bring his spear to bear, the tip lancing forth to be buried deep within the beast's chest. The Lizalfos screeched angrily, and Gaepora adjusted his aim and the final calculation even as his blade crashed through another monster's body.

Fire poured forth from his fingers, bathing the wounded monster in scorching heat, and Ta shifted targets, trusting in his King. The spear stabbed forth once more, impaling a lizard that had been taking advantage of Gaepora's distraction to try and sneak up on him. A pair of nods exchanged, and the battle resumed.

A three pronged blade whistled towards Gaepora, his arm shifting the claymore to deflect it, turning and striking down yet another foe. His eyes found the Iron Knuckle, standing at the back of it's forces, and he saw Hinea as well.

Fireballs rained from the sky, lightning lancing from one hand and a flow of ice from the other, a barrier guarding her back from a bolt of power. A wild grin spread across her face, madness in her eyes as she roared out a challenge to the heavens and the Wizzrobes she fought. The woman had always enjoyed combat a little too much, but that was hardly a crime. A brief pause, a wince crossing his face as he took in the battle.

This detachment had outnumbered the Lizalfos left standing, but that had not stopped the remaining Moblins from crushing through their defenses. Mangled and broken bodies littered the ground, Skylian and monster alike, though he was pleased to see that their numbers had proven the edge needed. There were not hundreds of Skylians dead…but there were dozens.

The barrier flickered around them, then fell, Hinea's laughter sounding out as the Wizzrobes stopped cackling. A mere three were left, one of each element, and they focused all of their attention upon her then. A roar, primal and angry, roared across the field as the Knights made their play at last, having been forced to wait until Hinea could kill enough Wizzrobes for the barrier to fall.

Link had been disappointed in the way the Knights fought atop their loftwings before, but that was because they were not meant to face one incredibly powerful individual. The Knights, and the birds they rode, were meant for this. Feathers and magics of all colors except red shone in the sky, the knights coming down with the fury of a hurricane. Lizalfos died in droves, bodies cleaved in twain or worse by bladed wings. Any monster that attempted to duck below it was shredded by talons, and any beast leaping above them was met with the spear or the blade, dying just as quickly. A single run turned the monsters from a force entirely capable of slaughtering the Skylians present into one that was little more than a handful left to route.

His eyes caught sight of the Knuckle once more, and Gaepora's eyes hardened. A handful left to route, and it. The earth shook as the Iron Knuckle decided to go down fighting, and his fingers tightened on the claymore's hilt.

Iron Knuckles truly were monstrous beasts. The form of a full-plate knight, twelve feet tall and nearly half that wide, gray armor and gray shield large enough to catch multiple strikes at a time. Gaepora charged forth, leaving the lesser monsters to the brave soldiers surrounding him, and his focus narrowed down to the Knuckle alone. He could not afford to bring anything less than his best here, after all.

His arms swung, a prayer to the goddess in his mind and on his lips, strength and vigor flowing through his limbs anew. Claymore crashed against broadsword hard enough to shake them both, but it was the Knuckle that was knocked back thanks to the enchantment and the holy power flowing through him. It adjusted far too quickly, however, shield slamming forth.

Gaepora dodged it by the skin of his teeth, blade cutting right. It glanced off the monster's armor, the King cursing mentally. The knight readjusted, blade swinging forth, and Gaepora was sent sliding back from the power as it crashed into his claymore. The Knuckle pushed forth, Gaepora stepping forward and swinging up. Force-enchanted claymore met the massive shield, and was once again found superior.

The Knuckle stumbled back, blade lashing out to keep Gaepora from pressing the attack with its ridiculous range. The King pushed forth, the blade gliding across the edge of his and sending sparks flying, and electricity crackled on his hand. Gaepora took his left hand from the hilt, pushing out, lighting roaring forth.

Muscles stronger than anything natural twitched in pain and shock, Gaepora taking the advantage as the beast screamed in agony, the smell of seared flesh filling the air. The claymore slashed forth, twisted and enchanted armor crumpling beneath the force of the blow, and the monster's arm was removed in a single second.

Gaepora leapt back, the beast's agony causing it to spasm dangerously. Its blade lashed out again and again, trying to slice him down, but he was out of range well before it started. He frowned, the knight recovering far quicker than he would have preferred, hatred-filled eyes glowing from inside the helmet. The Knuckle charged once more, fury and pain lending it strength and speed, and the King was rapidly forced on the defensive.

Even missing an arm, the monster was enough to push him. Titanic blows rained down, only barely dodged or blocked, and Gaepora found his knees beginning to crumple from the blows. If this kept up he would have a problem…

Calculations ran through his mind, another spell coming to the fore. A spike of ice interrupted the beast's rhythm, giving the besieged warrior a moment to retaliate. Both hands gripped the hilt, blade starting from low to the ground and swinging upwards with every ounce of power the King could put into it. The Knuckle met it with the full might of a downward swing, but once again Force carried the day.

Metal shrieked and protested, but the Knuckle's blade was no match for Skylian forged and enchanted craft. Half of the blade came free, the claymore continuing its swing to score lightly against the Knight's armor. Gaepora breathed out, inhaling deeply, and pushed. A final prayer to the Goddess, a step that was more than it should have been, and the edge of his blade was tearing through armor and flesh alike. The torso of the Iron Knuckle hit the ground, the legs still standing, a horrific scream of agony leaving the monster's lips. His blade spun, point facing down, and Gaepora ended it with a downward thrust.

Brown eyes took in the battlefield, finding Hinea first and foremost healing some of the fallen soldiers that were lucky enough to still be alive. A quick tally of the casualties, a mind that had been utilizing Reason for over a century and a half now easily able to count them all out. 87 fell, with around thirty of them being wounds of varying severity rather than death.

Gaepora's blade fell, watching as the monsters around them burst into black smoke now that the leader was gone, parts of varying types and qualities falling to the ground. Knuckles turned white on the grip as anger filled him, and he indulged it a little.

How dare these monsters continue to plague his people. Was it not enough to have an incursion every millenia? Was it not enough that they had killed his parents, slaughtered entire generations of his people? Was it not enough that, in those most ancient times when the Skylians still lived upon the surface, they swept across the land and genocided entire races?

Clearly not. Clearly, evil would never cease to be a problem for good people, would never allow the Skylians to live unthreatened. Incredible Skylians had died here today, died while he was right here with them, unable to save them. What good was a King that could only save some of his people? What good was a King who could not provide a plan that saved everyone?

Disgust, anger, hatred, and worst of all self-loathing mixed in a poisonous storm within him, Gaepora allowing himself a few minutes to stew in it. In a few minutes he would shove it all away and go to his people. He would be kind, sympathetic, and apologetic, because that was what his people needed from him, especially the injured and the grieving. But for now?

For now he hated. He hated the monsters that threatened them constantly, tearing away good people from those that loved them. He hated the world for the fact that it somehow continued to produce monsters in such horrendous quantities. Most of all, however, he hated himself.

He was a failure on every turn. Not strong enough to save his parents, not wise enough to save his people. Not good enough to allow his children to live in peace and prosperity, forced to go against everything he stood for and request his son to clean up his mess, because to do otherwise would endanger his people.

He hated himself for not being good enough to have an answer to a three pronged assault by powerful monsters; surely, by this point, he should be able to trust in his Royal Guard to handle something like this. Surely he should be able to rely upon those who had fought foes on this level throughout the incursion to handle a small Monster Party like this.

Gaepora's eyes caught something then, a dead body he recognized because he had fought beside it just a few minutes ago. Sergeant Ta, dead, his head removed from his shoulders, and hatred turned to grief. Shoulders slumped, the fury that had kept him from feeling the exhaustion fading away with terrible speed.

Better that he was here. Better that he was here, so that he could do everything in his power to keep the casualties as low as possible. Who knew how many the Knuckle could kill, were it to have been unopposed by someone capable of outmatching it. Far better that he was here, with everything he could bring to bear, than to have to bury his close friends in the Royal Guard because a single mistake or slip was made.

Battle was unpredictable; even a champion could fall to Bokoblins, no matter how unlikely. All it took was enough of them, after all; they were only mortal, and they would wear down. Not even he could take on three Hinox in a single day. Not even he, Gaepora, blessed by Hylia with great strength and stamina, could fight two Lynel in a matter of hours without significant aid and a high chance of death.

Gaepora straightened; he had mourned long enough, had brooded long enough. His people needed him. So he walked to them, and spent time helping them. Apologizing for the fact that he could not save the fallen, holding onto the wounded and the mourning, doing everything that he could to make this better for them, however minimal his aid might actually be. Gaepora would never, could never be enough…but he could try, and at the end of the day, that was what mattered most.

It would be easy to surrender. To give up in the face of the overwhelming adversity that had plagued Skyloft for 25,000 years. That, however, was not in the nature of Skylians, of Hylia's chosen people. No matter the darkness, no matter the foe, they would face it head on and fight to the end. If they failed…it was a thought that did not bear consideration, but if they did, then so be it. They would go down fighting.

Fighting for each other, for the men and women on either side of them. Fighting for the children and family back at home, waiting for them to come back. Fighting for survival, for the right to live. Skyloft would stand. With broken backs they may be forced to stand, with no obligation to live, but they would survive. Skyloft had stood for 25,000 years, and by the grace of the Goddess it would stand for no less than 25,000 more.

No matter what Gaepora had to personally sacrifice, he would see it so.

~~The Eternal Game~~

Of all the monsters that threaten our wonderful Kingdom, few are those that are greater than the Lynel I have just covered. Each and every variant is monstrous, each and every one a horror to face on the battlefield. They are, perhaps, the single greatest threat to Skyloft as a whole, for in every Incursion they number in the hundreds. Each time they are present upon the field of battle they require significant investment to put down, and rare are those under the level of a Champion that can survive fighting them even in groups.

Despite all of that, however, there are in fact beasts even greater than the Lynel, and it is to one such monster I turn to now. The Gleeok. Everyone has heard the old stories, the ancient myths, of the Dragons. Massive beasts tens to dozens of feet long; they were larger than can be believed and stronger than can possibly be understood in this era. The Dragons of old were forced to stand alone against the rising tides of darkness, for to fight alongside others would be to doom them to death by the great power those noble beings wielded.

Dragons had scales that could withstand even the cutting edge of royal-class weaponry or the penetrating power of enchanted spears. They had strength capable of tearing apart the very mountains they tended to call home. They lived and breathed as flying incarnations of the very elements themselves, and supposedly had wisdom greater than any Hylian to ever live.

Those Dragons were amongst the greatest allies of the Hylians, and for a rather odd and amusing reason. You see, a Dragon had a rather odd desire in life; to create a "horde". What this horde could be varied from dragon to dragon, according to the stories. Some dragons had a great love for gold or gems, others for magnificently forged weapons or armor, others still adored books of all kinds. Some of them, however, treated entire cities as their hordes.

We have stories of Yrm the Playful, a mighty Dragon who stood 60 feet tall and held a wingspan of 360 feet, strong enough to destroy entire cities should he so choose. His horde was children. The Dragon loved and adored children, wishing nothing more than to spend his time being a massive playground for them, hearing them happy, or even educating them. He was a teacher, a guide, a guardian, and a very dear friend to each and every Hylian living in the ancient city of Mikoraga, with them from birth until death for thousands of years.

Picture, if you will, that dragon. Old and mighty beyond anything you can understand, a natural disaster made manifest upon the world should he be angered. Now picture that very same dragon, but monstrous instead. All that power, all of that kindness, turned towards destroying the very city he adored and protected.

That is a Gleeok.

A Gleeok is a dragon forged from darkness and despair, imbued with one of the three primary elements of Fire, Lightning, or Ice. The smallest of them on record are only a few feet smaller than Yrm the Playful, and they are everything that the ancient dragons would have been should they decide to turn to the darkness. Strong enough to carve through steel with ease, tough enough to ignore even the strongest of weapons, and entirely immune to the element they wield, to face a Gleeok is to face death.

There is no victory on that battlefield; no glory in facing it. If you are unfortunate enough to come across a Gleeok, slowly retreat and pray to Hylia that it does not see you. If it does, make peace with your death, for there is no victory to be had.

There are two known Gleeoks upon Farore's Hope, and not a single soul has gone anywhere near their territory in centuries. There has been a grand total of one time that a Gleeok has been slain in the history of Skyloft, during the Seventh Incursion. It took the Hero and his Crimson Loftwing working in unison to bring the monster down, and that fight lasted for hours until the Hero could finally create a weak point in the monster's armor.

At no other point in history has a Gleeok joined the incursion, and we are thankful for it, for there have been points in history where a Gleeok has decided to leave whatever territory it claimed for itself and cause a problem. Seven cities have been razed to the ground by a furious Gleeok that decided to destroy for no reason other than that it could. Each one had been defended by hundreds of soldiers, knights, and mages. Each one failed horrifically in the face of the sheer might of the Gleeok.

These monsters are army killers, because there is nothing that the army can do to them. The Hero alone could stand up to one alone, and even he was only able to slay it because of the Bird of Legend. Gleeoks are one of three monsters that have a standing order to Flee On Sight, and they have earned that title.

It has been theorized that a sizable number of Champion level fighters working together could possibly bring one down. Take notice; that theory has never been tested. Champion level fighters take years to decades to make, and to sacrifice many for no gain is little more than the game of a fool.

These monsters are, as previously mentioned, notably draconic in nature. Their bodies are covered in scales tougher than any armor Skyloft can craft, and they possess three separate and unique heads, each with a single eye. Much like the Hinox, these eyes are covered with a natural magic barrier that is only slightly weaker than the scales upon its body, meaning that for all that it is the singular weak point on it…targeting it is a fool's errand.

Gleeoks have a long and terrible history, as well, for it was primarily them that slayed the dragons of old. The example given earlier, of Yrm the Playful? His story ends in tragedy, in him being unable to save his city as a King Gleeok shattered him entirely as he flew to defend it. The beast dragged his slowly dying form to the hills outside the city, and the dragon known for his kindness and love for Hylians was forced to watch as the city it failed to defend was destroyed before his very eyes. So great was his rage that Yrm gathered what was left of his magic into a single blow, a blow strong enough to scar one of the pinnacles of all Gleeok kind from the head to the tail, but he failed to kill it.

Yrm died, broken and alone, having watched all of what he loved be reduced to ashes. Make no mistake, if you disturb a Gleeok, that fate will happen to you. Now that I hope I have beaten it into your skull just how deadly these monsters are, of the consequences that will be faced should you anger one, I shall begin to describe it properly.

Gleeoks are found in a multitude of colors, usually linked to the element they channel…

Link sighed heavily, no longer feeling like reading. That…had not been what he had expected, upon picking up Monster Compendium. The first three books had been fairly basic; a variety of enemies, drawn and described from the Zelda games. Most of it had been skimmable, containing nothing he didn't already know, but some of it had been good to know. He really had skimmed through most of it, however, though he would come back to it later…at some point…maybe.

This, however…this had been raw. Yrm the Playful, what every person who knew about dragons would likely wish to know. He was no Paarthurnax, who had been an incredibly deep character who had stumbled and dragged himself to being good, but Yrm was no worse for that. Link had never heard that dragon's story, but he could feel the pain that creature had felt.

It wasn't even an exaggeration, either. That sixth sense that picked up impressions from magic had been in full force the moment he'd started reading about Yrm. Happiness, contentment, enjoyment…followed by the single greatest feeling of devastation and pain that Link had ever imagined crashing into him like a tidal wave. Whatever Yrm had done in his final moments, whatever had been done to him…it had left a wound. It had scarred the world, in a way that he didn't and couldn't understand, but reminded him the most of the Moment of Fate he'd seen a few days ago.

Perhaps that was why his story had stuck around for so long; it was quite odd for a single myth to be so coherent after over 30,000 years, after all. Magic having something to do with it would make a lot more sense than people just remembering it offhand. Especially when you considered the fact that the Era of Yrm's death would have been one where tragedies like that were being repeated on every race across the world, to the extent that a lot of them didn't exist anymore.

He shook his head, forcing the melancholy and pain that wasn't his away as best he could, breathing deep for several minutes. Safflina, lavender, oil and steel, spice and cooking meat. A far better thing to focus on than the oddities of this world. Sylph's presence checked in inside his soul, concern and warmth flowing through him, and he soothed it in return. He was fine, just something he had read and felt.

Honestly, Sylph was a bit too concerned about him. More concerned about his emotional well being than his parents had ever been, that was for certain. It wasn't something he was entirely used to yet, but he was learning. Between Sylph, Zelda, and Gaepora however, he was getting more care and concern than he had ever imagined possible, much less even dared to hope for.

Link shook that off too, standing up. The curry was ready, and he needed to go ahead and dish it out. He'd been wanting some proper curry ever since he'd tried it this morning, and by everything that was holy that felt arrogant to think. It was the truth, however. That curry had been alright, good even, and before this week started it would have been amazing. Unfortunately, he'd been spoiled in such a short time.

He made it three steps towards the kitchen before the door opened, Zelda stepping through. She saw him, beautiful blue eyes sparkling, and favored him with a warm and happy smile.

"Good evening, Link." Link smiled back, warmth and happiness welling up within him.

"Good evening, Zelda." Her smile widened and she turned, shutting the door, damp hair swaying with the movement. His eyes fell to something a little lower down as she once more bent at the waist to take off her shoes, the toned butt of a woman trained for battle on full display against the fabric of her trousers. God that was still a wonderful sight, even with all the other amazing things he'd seen since showing up here.

His eyes flicked away as she straightened back up, meeting those eyes that seemed to have a touch of playfulness as she turned around once more. One step, two, Link doing the same, and they were hugging. A truly wonderful thing, hugging. Two bodies sharing warmth and comfort after a day apart. Link had had very few hugs in life that he could remember, but Zelda seemed to be doing everything she could to make up for that. Link didn't think he would ever complain about it, either.

She eventually pulled back, far enough to look down at him but keeping him within her arms. He was happy to oblige her, her flesh warm against his even through the clothing. Blue eyes looked up to his hair, soft and fluffy after the bath he'd taken, and then back down to his eyes. She seemed to consider it for a moment, but then her nose caught the scent of the curry and turned inquisitively towards it.

"That smells a little hotter than normal, Link." She didn't sound displeased, thankfully. It was little more than an observation, and Link was left unsure as to how she felt.

"Mm. I made two types, the normal and the hot one." Zelda frowned, turning towards him in confusion once more.

"You know that I do not mind extra spice, Link." Good to know for the future, but he had, in fact, not known that before just now. It was possible that it was in the journal, but Link had not noticed it in his earlier skim.

"The normal one is for your father. I heard that somebody was bragging about my cooking, and somebody else was sad over the fact that they couldn't get it anymore." A giggle, shameless and happy, blue eyes sparkling with glee. Zelda looked entirely unrepentant, and was all the more beautiful for it. Then her playfulness faded, and a more sincere gratitude rose.

"Thank you for that, I have no doubt that he will enjoy it immensely. You did not have to, however, and I am sure that he will tell you the same. Thank you as well for remembering that he does not enjoy the extra heat the way you and I do." Thanks once again poured from her lips so very easily, putting shame to everyone he'd ever met in his original life. Well, perhaps not everyone, but everyone he'd interacted with regularly at least.

"I know, and he didn't pressure me or even ask about it. He brought it up as a joke, and I figured I would make him some." A smile, Zelda pulling him in for a proper hug once more. His head was pressed into the soft skin of her neck, feeling the vibration of her throat as she spoke.

"I adore how considerate you are. Thank you for being a wonderful person to me, and…" Nope. They were not doing this pouring of honey into his ears once again. He did not want to be turned into little more than a blushing mess, and furthermore he was not worthy of being praised just for having the slightest bit of consideration. He pulled back, one hand finally leaving Zelda's body to place a finger at her lips. Blue eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed, and Link's voice cut her off.

"I am only half as considerate and caring as you are. No matter what you think or claim, you are a truly and genuinely wonderful girl that deserves everything I can do for her. You are kind, you are beautiful, you are intelligent and observant, and making food for your father or Rin is such a tiny thing in comparison to what you do for me." Blue eyes hardened, Zelda's shoulders squaring in preparation for what would likely be the closest thing to an argument they'd had since he got here, and over such an amusing thing too.

Link, however, had no interest in playing fair. He'd felt Zelda's administrations the past few days, and had been paying attention to her. He'd seen the way she'd come home tense and tired, and his free hand slid upwards across her back. Her entire body shivered against him at the touch, her attempt to speak thrown off for a second, and her eyes half-closed against her will as his fingers began to gently caress the base of her skull.

Her hair was soft and silky against his hand, and he found himself wanting to get both hands into her hair the same way she had been so eager to do to him. He pressed a little harder, adoring the way she melted, and let himself continue, voice soft and smooth.

"You are a brilliant woman, Zelda. Really, you are, but at the same time you can be so very silly." Zelda tried to glare at him; really and truly, she did. With one hand massaging her skull and the other one now running a thumb across her cheek, however, the closest she could get to it was a half-lidded gaze that did things to him. His mind searched across the books he'd read and the games he'd played, wondering how to phrase this. How best to get the meaning across.

"You deserve better than me, no matter how much you believe otherwise. Yesterday, after an entire day of doing things you have never trained or practiced doing and wearing your hands out, your first response to seeing me face down on the couch was to try and make my day a bit better. You are a wonderful, brilliant individual that I am so incredibly lucky to know. I am even luckier to be one of those you care for." His hand slipped around her head, both hands sliding up to be just under the jaw. A thumb settled at the base of each ear, fingers finding that tension point at the base of the skull, and he continued the massage.

Zelda melted in his grasp, almost slumping against him. Were he not who and what he was, she likely would have fallen, but it was easy enough for his body to support hers. She was so very, very light after all. Her face relaxed even further, lips parting slightly, half-closed eyes staring at him like she couldn't quite believe he existed. He wanted, now more than ever, to kiss her.

Link wasn't quite sure where he found the boldness; perhaps it was from having the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen as putty in his hands, perhaps it was lingering adrenaline from earlier, perhaps it was just something they'd been building to since he'd arrived here. But he straightened up, rising up on his tiptoes, and even as blue eyes looked at him with love he tried to kiss her on the lips. His nerve failed him at the very last moment, terror rising up within him as those blue eyes widened, so he shifted his goal.

His lips gently pressed against her cheek, smelling of lavender and what hints of taste he could gain from that matching it. Even as her face exploded into color, his hands pulled her down a little bit. A moment later their foreheads were gently pressing together, their lips and noses scant millimeters apart, and he spoke. Softly, and with every ounce of feeling that he could put into it, his words left his lips even as his eyes stared up into beautiful blue orbs.

"I adore you, my Princess. I love everything about you, and you are my favorite person. There is nobody else on that list, nobody who even could be on that list. You are the single greatest thing to ever happen to me, and even should I live a thousand lives that would still be the case. You deserve to be happy, to be content, and to have a wonderful life." Link struggled, wanting to get out the realization that had begun to build last night and solidified this morning.

Even with the way she was looking at him, however, he couldn't. Not yet, not with what was coming. Not with the chance of losing her so very close. So he did the best his foolish, cowardly heart and mind would allow, and spoke with every ounce of care and adoration that he could whisper out.

"I adore you, my Zelda. Please don't ever consider otherwise, even for a moment."

For a moment he wasn't certain he had managed it. To get the message across without causing hurt over his inability to say the words. Strangely enough, however, it was her beautiful eyes beginning to well up with moisture that told him he had. A complete opposite of everything he knew and was taught to believe, that crying women were something to avoid, because he recognized the way she was looking at him. He knew that look, for it was the same way she'd looked at him right after he'd opened his door two nights ago.

Tears began to fall, Zelda shaking in his arms even as his fingers continued to massage her. A hiccup, her voice shaky and filled with more emotions than he could possibly categorize.

"How…Link…that…this is…this is not fair." Her arms tightened around him desperately, and he found himself smiling gently. He retaliated, voice soft and gentle, filled with the same storm of emotions that Zelda's had been.

"What's not fair is you deciding to pour honey into my ears just because I decided to be a good friend." A sniffle, a protest started that he hushed gently. He just hugged her back, every bit as tightly as she was squeezing him, and let her recover. It took some time; many minutes, he believed, but she managed. She finally pulled back, eyes rimmed with red but beaming down at him, and he returned it. Not as strongly, but his smile was wider than any so far, and it seemed to just make her happier.

Even more time passed before Zelda let him go, one of her hands finally coming up to wipe at her face and the other interlacing with his. Another sniffle, the beautiful young woman shaking her head. The two walked into the kitchen, without words or even real consideration and Zelda refusing to let go of his hand. Link dished out their meal, rice and hot curry which…didn't feel entirely appropriate now, in all truth, but he hadn't exactly planned any of that.

Zelda took a few more minutes to put herself back together, but Link was the one to take it a step further. He turned on the sink, the magic bringing forth cold and clear water, and dampened a rag. He wiped gently at her eyes and face, removing the tear tracks, and the soppy smile she favored him with melted his insides to goo yet again.

It took a few more minutes before they were seated, the only evidence of what had happened being the mutually warm feelings and the adoring expression Zelda was looking at him with. It was shaping up to be a wonderful night; after touching her hair earlier, Link had every intention of getting his fingers into it once more today. Perhaps offering to brush it? It wasn't exactly something he'd dreamed about, but he found himself wanting to do it now.

Which, naturally, was when there was a knock at the door.

Blue eyes and blue eyes turned to the door, before turning back to each other, the same question in each pair. A voice, warm and gentle, rang out, for the second time today.

"Zelda? Link? Are the two of you decent, or are you busy making some wonderful grandbabies for me to spoil?" Zelda blushed, teeth biting at her lower lip and her eyes shutting, but Link wasn't as bothered.

"We are decent. Give me a moment and I can unlock the door for you." Zelda's hand squeezed his, gratitude flashing in her eyes for covering for her, and she took a deep breath to both calm down and suppress the blush. Link got up to let in the King of Skyloft and the father of the girl he'd just all but declared his love for, and the man greeted him with a smile. A breath had his eyes looking past him, spotting his daughter and two bowls of food, and he looked rather apologetic.

"Good evening my boy. My apologies, I did not mean to interrupt your dinner." Link shook his head.

"We were just about to start. There is more, if you are hungry." Gaepora looked tempted, he really did. Then his stomach grumbled, and he looked sheepish, and Zelda's voice rang out, clear and kind.

"Link cooked extra just for you, Father. You had better eat it while it is hot, as reheating it does not taste anywhere near as wondrous." Gaepora looked delighted, Link stepping to the side to let him in, and then the man paused. Brown eyes sought him out, the man smiling softly.

"I did not mean to pressure you into cooking for me earlier, Link. It was a joke, and nothing more. Despite that, thank you very much for doing so. I have truly missed your cooking." It was remarkable how easy these two found speaking. Apologizing, making clear what they meant, enunciation and emotion present within…Link wished to have half of their ability to manage it. Perhaps if he did, he would be able to tell Zelda that he loved her, the short time that he'd actually known her be damned.

"It's fine. I know you meant it as a joke, I just decided to do it anyway. I didn't expect to see you again today, however." Gaepora nodded, a touch of the melancholy of earlier settling in for a moment before he shook it off.

"I was not sure whether or not I should, but I decided to check in. I did ask a rather difficult task of you earlier, after all." Had he been in his old body, Link would have snorted at that. As it was, however, he just shut the door behind the King as the man stepped inside and went to make a bowl for him. Gaepora stood in the entryway for a moment, eyes taking in the room, before he knelt down to remove his boots.

"Water, tea, or milk?" Brown eyes flashed to him, curious, then realization dawned.

"Ah, milk if you would be so kind. I am afraid that spices and I do not agree with each other, and the curry you have made smells quite strong." Zelda giggled, and Gaepora turned a mock hurt expression onto her.

"Now Father, surely you can handle a little bit of heat. After all, Link worked so hard on this." Gaepora just smiled and shook his head.

"Alas, I am sure that he has, but I am old and infirm my dear. That much spice without enough milk to dampen the heat would be enough to kill me, I am certain of it." Link was the one to be amused now, even as he poured the milk. If a little bit of spice was enough to kill the King of Hyrule, clearly the forces of darkness had been going about it the wrong way all this time.

He handed the man his bowl, Gaepora thanking him, and settled back down onto the couch. Oddly enough, or perhaps not so much so considering where they were and what they had been doing, Zelda was cuddling against him mere seconds after he'd grabbed his bowl once more. Gaepora, in the actual oddity of the situation, didn't even comment on it. He didn't look at them knowingly, didn't tease; he didn't even so much as raise one part of the unibrow. He just smiled gently at them, eyes a million miles away, until he took his first bite.

Delight lit up his face, a groan of satisfaction leaving his lips, and several more bites were shoveled down. His manners didn't suffer, but Zelda teased him for it regardless.

"Be careful, Father. You would not want Lady Nalan to see such slovenly behavior." Gaepora shuddered, and only part of it seemed to be theatrical. He chewed slower, swallowing, and then spoke.

"Please do not put that curse upon me, my dear. I have done nothing to deserve that woman's attention." Zelda giggled, Gaepora's eyes twinkling, and the three settled in for the meal. There was no conversation for some time, just three people enjoying a meal and quiet company, and when it was done the King leaned back in the armchair with a satisfied sigh.

"Mm, that was as wonderful as ever, Link. Thank you for thinking of me, and a second thank you for actually cooking it for me. Your cooking is always a wonderful treat to have." Heat flared to life in Link's cheeks, even as he nodded. Zelda just wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed, happy and content to be pressed tight against him now that they were full.

"Not that I object to your presence, but what brings you to our rooms, Father?" Link could see Gaepora's instant reaction to tease, and could see him decide to not go with it. It was an interesting thing to watch his eyes twinkle, to feel Zelda tense slightly against him, and then to watch the sparkle fade and Zelda remain tense. He slipped his arm around behind her, squeezing her gently, and she relaxed into him. Brown eyes met his, gratitude within them, and the King carried on.

"I asked Link to take on a job earlier, and I wished to check in and see how it went." Link nodded, but he was honestly more concerned about what Gaepora had dealt with.

"What about the Monster Party?" Zelda tensed, blue eyes bolting from him to her father in an instant and fury crossed her features. Link squeezed her, drawing her attention back to him a second before she began to demand answers.

"He didn't send me after one. The fact that it existed was the reason he came to me for an unrelated job in the first place." Fury softened to understanding, and Zelda relaxed against him. Gaepora's eyes held a lot more gratitude this time, when they met his. Trepidation too, but Link could actually understand where that was coming from.

"I will be more than willing to tell you how it went after you have told me how your mission went, but in short I am fine and healthy, as is Hinea. There were, unfortunately, casualties, but that is unavoidable when it comes to facing large groups of monsters." Zelda nodded, grim-faced, and Link obliged.

"I found the Hinox easily enough, they were right where the Compass said they would be. Killing them was, to start, rather easy. All three were around a massive circle of bloodied grass and animal parts, two of them having passed out after gorging themselves and the final one in a state of near torpor and still eating." Gaepora and Zelda both grimaced, Gaepora looking rather grim.

"So the reports detailing the lack of other monsters were true, then?" Link nodded.

"It's what made them so easy to put down. I snuck up to two of them, expanded the Darknut's blade to its maximum size and stabbed them through the eye." Zelda looked at him, incredulous, before sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You know, Link, I think that I have a solid understanding of how incredible you are and then you casually state something like that." He looked at her oddly.

"That…isn't that impressive. Anyone with the strength to manage that and a spear could have done what I did." Gaepora softly cleared his throat, drawing his attention to the man.

"It is not quite that simple, my boy. Hinox eyes are not an easy target, and sneaking up on one is no small feat. For as lacking in intelligence as they are, they possess a natural awareness of their surroundings while slumbering that very few other monsters can manage." Link found himself raising an eyebrow; that was a high awareness of their surroundings? He hadn't exactly been wearing the Sheikah Gear, he'd just been walking slowly.

"I can accept people not having the strength to get through that odd barrier, but I am not that stealthy." Zelda giggled, his eyes turning back to her. Blue eyes danced with amusement, and she spoke.

"You seem to have forgotten the fact that you once gave the entirety of the Castle staff, as well as my Father, several hours of terror one night when you woke me up to see a meteor shower. We walked right past no less than twenty guards, hand in hand, and not a single one of them noticed us. You can be terrifyingly stealthy when you decide to be, Link." He blinked, wondering how that could have happened. How blind and bored were the guards that two children could sneak by them?

"I feel like that was less us being sneaky and more them being complacent." Zelda giggled once more, eyes delighted, and even Gaepora chuckled.

"Link, those were my Royal Guard. A group of people who have sworn oaths to protect myself and my bloodline beyond all else. There is never a point in my life that they are not on watch, and the Captain of the Guard is regularly on patrol to see if anyone is taking it easy. In a century of relative peace, he has not had to issue a single reprimand for it." Link frowned, but shrugged. He was reasonably sure that wasn't the case, that the Captain of the Guard was just handling discipline internally, but it wasn't worth debating.

"Regardless, the first two Hinox were easy to deal with. Things went a bit wrong as I stopped for a moment to consider the best way to put the third one down." The attention of the two Royals snapped back to him, both waiting patiently for him to continue.

"Sylph warned me, and I had just enough time to use the Gale to get into the air and away from the attackers before fire and lightning lit up the Hinox I'd just killed." Gaepora and Zelda alike narrowed their eyes, the Princess squeezing him all the harder.

"Wizzrobes, then? They have the intelligence to guide Hinox, and the ability to gather up large quantities of wild animals to slaughter." Gaepora's hand came up, stroking his goatee, and Link almost hated to burst the bubble.

"Three of them, and for some reason four Darknuts." Both Royals froze, every ounce of calmness vanishing. Gaepora's voice was only barely steady when he spoke, emotion thick within it.

"Considering…considering you are alive and well before us, I trust that you either managed to fight them or escaped." In lieu of an actual answer, Link used his free hand to point over towards his desk. Blue and brown eyes followed the path, taking in the weapons and shields he had carefully set there that neither had paid any attention to until now. Four Darknut blades, currently sized to be broadswords. Four Darknut Shields, the circle shields black and flawless in the light of the crystals. A rod of fire glimmering gently with its own light, a rod of ice causing the air around it to frost, and a rod of electricity slowly sparking.

Both Royals stared dumbly at the weapons for several moments, eyes taking in the other little details. Each Rod had two Wizzrobe fingers at the base, and each sword held a Knight's Crest upon the hilt. It took them a little bit to truly believe their eyes, but when they did the pair turned as one back to him.

"Link…" Zelda began, voice uncertain and shaky.

"How?" Gaepora finished, sounding remarkably like his daughter. Link shrugged; it hadn't been that difficult, really.

"The Hinox hit me while I was in the air, sending me flying." Zelda gasped in horror, eyes searching over his body for any hint of a wound. He squeezed her, a little tighter than before.

"It hit my shield, don't worry. Anyways, it sent me flying far enough that I had a few seconds to reorient myself for the Darknuts after I landed. I defended myself from them, and let Protection absorb a spike of ice. Sylph struck then, killing the final Hinox that had been charging towards me." Gaepora nodded, and even Zelda seemed somewhat mollified.

"After that, I called down Fury, frying one of the Darknuts entirely." Zelda choked on her own breath for a moment, voice incredulous.

"Link, their armor is resistant to magic!" He smiled at her, amused.

"Resistant does not mean immune." She paused, staring at him, before pouting even as Gaepora chuckled.

"You are not wrong, Link, but it is considered unwise for a mage to face a Darknut due to just how strong the resistance is." Well, Link wasn't a mage, and Urbosa definitely hadn't been either. Actually…hmm. How long would that be the case for him, and was that even the case for an Urbosa in this kind of world? He didn't know, and would have no opportunity to find out, to his slight dismay.

"I put a good amount of magic into it, but it was far from impossible." Gaepora smiled slightly, shaking his head and laughing at something only he was privy to.

"Carry on, my boy." Link nodded, eyes turning back to a still concerned Zelda.

"The Wizzrobes were focusing on Sylph, and she was leading their attacks in a direction to help me set up. I dodged one of the Darknut's attacks, letting the world slow, and used the time to knock off their armor." Zelda nodded understandingly, but Gaepora looked lost.

"I am sorry Link…letting the world slow?" Link looked at him, confused, before it registered.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you about that one. I have five types of internal magic, not four." Brown eyes widened, staring at him in shock. Zelda laughed at the poor man, and he recovered enough to look at her in mock pain.

"I would expect this from Link, such things are not as important to him, but from you my daughter? To leave your poor old father out of the loop when it comes to such incredible things? I am hurt, my dear, truly I am." There was not a single bit of honesty in those statements, Gaepora's eyes twinkling and lips fighting to twitch up into a smile, and Zelda laughed harder.

"Basically, I can either speed myself up or slow down the world for short periods. I'm not exactly sure how it works." Gaepora returned his attention to Link, expression growing far more serious.

"That is a rather remarkable ability, Link. I suppose that that is how you were teleporting around Archmage Hinea yesterday?" Link nodded, and Gaepora chuckled.

"I see. Very well then, I am caught up now." Another nod, and Link continued.

"The Darknuts made room, and that was exactly what I needed. The Gale rose up and I took a…hmm. A windstep, I think I can call it. I expanded the blade to its max size once more, cleaving through all three Wizzrobes. Sylph took the opportunity to bank hard and slice through two of the Darknuts who were still reacting to what I had done, and the only thing left alive was the final monster. It…didn't last long." Funnily enough, this explanation had actually taken longer than the fight.

Father and daughter stared at him for several moments, both rather incredulous yet neither capable of denying his words. Link wasn't a liar, not even in his old life, and he was grateful that they believed him. Sure, he had proof, but that hadn't stopped people in his original life from calling him a liar anyways.

"You are truly remarkable, Link." Gaepora's words caused a thrum of warmth in his stomach, but it was Zelda's that made him blush once more.

"You are amazing, Link." It wasn't a full on blush like he had been reduced to yesterday morning, but it was enough to color his cheeks and ears, Zelda's eyes having something in them as she looked at him.

"Unfortunately, that is a lot more than what I had believed you would be facing. As such, I believe the reward we agreed upon is no longer enough." Link frowned, staring at the far too gleeful man. He didn't need any more money. Zelda looked at them in confusion, and Gaepora spoke.

"Ah, right, you would not know yet. Link has decided that he wants fewer rupees in exchange for the services he is providing Skyloft." Blue eyes turned to him, fierce and indignant, and Gaepora looked far too amused for a moment before he continued.

"As such, he initially decided to ask for enchanted equipment instead. Upon a bit of discussion, we agreed upon my arranging for him to have a storehouse built to contain his growing horde." Indignation faded away and amusement took its place, Zelda laughing at him now. Link couldn't even be grumpy at the poke when Zelda was laughing like that. Oddly enough, there was a flash of something in her eyes he couldn't quite catch.

"So, all told, I believe this would be settled at a combined total of…160,000 Rupees total. An A-Rank for each Darknut and Hinox, as well as one for the Wizzrobes. Taking away the previously agreed upon one A-Rank reward that you will be accepting in cash, the second in Darknut blades, and the thirty thousand for the storehouse…that leaves us with 90,000 Rupees for you to decide whether you want them as rupees or in items of some sort." Link groaned, sinking back into the couch and staring at the ceiling.

Funny. He'd spent so long desperate for money, needing more and more just to have a chance at getting ahead in life, yet here he was now. He already had more money than he knew what to do with, and Gaepora was just throwing more at him without mercy. On the one hand, he was grateful. It was a wonderful thing to know that he didn't ever have to worry about being poor here. On the other hand, it was a pain, because what did you even do with money when you were rich? It wasn't like he could sink twenty thousand into a really advanced game system!

Zelda's body pressed a little tighter to his, her hand gently rubbing his side, and he started to actually think rather than just bemoan his circumstances. He heard the two of them talking about something, but mentally checked out of the conversation as he ran the numbers in his head.

30,000 Rupees would get him a storehouse with three floors, a basement, and an unknown but presumably large amount of enchanted storage space. What if he doubled that? 60,000 Rupees would no doubt get a vastly expanded basement level, possibly with a training area, and no doubt a decent amount of land for him to do…whatever with. Running bounty board jobs to have someone cut his grass for him would suck up at least some of his funds as well, right? Same with having somebody to clean it.

The biggest concern, however, was the fact that he didn't want it to be just a storehouse. Sure, living in the castle would no doubt be nice and wonderful, especially with Zelda at his side, but considering the way she reacted when she entered the rooms…it wasn't where she was happiest. She very visibly needed a place where she could relax and just exist, and he could freely admit that it was a wonderful thing even to him.

60,000 Rupees would also ensure that he could get furniture worthy of a Princess as well, and he couldn't deny that the concept of furniture enchanted for comfort would be a wonderful thing. So that was that taken care of, only another 60,000 more to go. Gaepora would likely be easy to convince should he make it clear that the house was as much for Zelda as it was for him, although…hmm. She'd probably want to have input on the home as well, which he honestly didn't mind. Gaepora had said he would be the one to draw up the designs anyways, so that was something off his shoulders at least.

Ideally, he could amp that number up to even more, 70-80 thousand, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. 20,000 could no doubt go towards requesting Darknut shields, because as he'd noticed earlier he didn't exactly have a stockpile of those. Channel another A-Rank into getting a potion stockpile going, because he was going to need the repair variants, and he would only have at most 20,000 more to deal with. What to do with that…

Bows, maybe? Ooh, were enchanted arrows a thing here? Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Bomb…those would be useful. He hadn't seen any in the Academy Supply Depot, but it was also the Academy Depot. Keeping quality gear there in case of attack was intelligent. Keeping exploding arrows in a place where stupid children could get to was not. If enchanted arrows did exist, however, he would absolutely sink several A-Ranks worth of rewards into ensuring he had a stockpile of those. The bomb arrows alone were more useful than a dozen swords, after all.

His mind kept on circling around the house. How would he even design it? Gaepora had said he would design the storehouse, but was he really fine with that? Well, even if it turned out that he wasn't, he could just run a few more missions and redo it entirely.

Link blinked, mind seizing onto that last thought. He could redo it. He could run a few missions and pay for it to be rebuilt from the ground up. An exhale, that one thought circling around in his skull. It was finally starting to sink in, something that boggled his mind. He'd been skirting on the edges of it, had realized it, but only now was it truly striking him.

He was rich.

Really, truly, properly rich. He was wealthy even by the standards of his old life, if rupees translated evenly into dollars, but here he was rich. Three hundred thousand rupees was a sum that would take a General a full two decades to make. More than that, in fact, if his math was right. It would take a little over 23 years to manage it. Considering expenses, and the fact that a General would be paying for a higher standard of living than the basics, it would likely take at least double that to save up that much.

Link had earned that in two days; on a third he was going to earn over half of it again. How did Skyloft even have enough Rupees for this? No, that didn't matter. What did matter was that Link was rich. He'd spent most of his life watching his parents worry about money; had spent every day since he'd decided to move out worrying about it as well. It had taken him two years of work to save up twenty thousand dollars, working under the table at various places.

It hadn't been until the last few months that he'd found something that stuck and paid decently, as well, which had been helping. Link couldn't quite get over it, however. Six figures was a myth, just about. Adults were scraping by on a little over 30 thousand a year after taxes, and living slightly better if there was a second income there. Buying a house could easily cost ten times your yearly income, and renting an apartment could cost you 12 thousand a year. One bedroom, at that!

He would know, he'd been looking at them for months. Trying to find a place that wasn't a complete garbage dump yet also was cheap enough to not wipe out his savings. The fact that he didn't have a bank account and would be paying purely in cash also scratched off a number of the more reputable places, but he wasn't exactly able to help that. He hadn't been old enough to even have a bank account on his own yet before he wound up here. What even was going to happen to the cash he'd had stockpiled, anyways? His parents would no doubt find it eventually…oh well. It wasn't like it mattered.

After all, a single job was basically equivalent to his life savings, but it went so much farther. An hour of work…no. Five minutes of effort, not counting travel time, and he was richer than he'd ever even considered being. All it had taken was getting Isekai'd for all of his problems to vanish, and a truly wonderful experience to take their place. Even with the looming threat of Demise, Skyloft was giving him everything he'd ever wanted and more.

His resolve settled, mind turning towards the house once more. He wasn't sure he would ever live there, but he was going to have one. He was going to have his own space, like he'd always wanted…and he was going to invite Zelda into it. It would be a storehouse for his…his horde, and a safehouse for them. A place to retreat from the world, and perhaps even from the castle, when it all became too much. And, if he could…he was going to put it where he had always dreamed.

Skyloft had mountains, even this island. His family had gone to the mountains once, back when he was younger, in one of the few vacations they ever took as a family, and he had adored it. Cooler weather, quieter area, and he could be left alone. Perhaps…perhaps he could do the same thing here? Sylph would be able to make it there quickly enough, after all.

Link raised his head, rejoining the conversation. He had a goal in mind now, after all.

~~The Eternal Game~~

Gaepora had interrupted something.

He was not certain what, exactly, though he had hopes, but he knew he had interrupted something. The first hint had been Link answering instead of Zelda. The second had been the fact that his daughter was rather quiet in comparison to normal.

It had taken him a bit to be certain, and in truth he had not been sure until after the delicious meal. Zelda's question had been enough to show that he had upset her with his presence. Not enough that he was unwelcome, and even if he was she was too polite to show it, but enough. Considering the way his son and daughter were glued together on the couch, and the way she had not let him go, however…his hopes were continuing to run wild.

It was also part of the reason he did not bother to tease them. Well, that and the fact that he was far from being in the mood for it himself. Link's cooking was a delight after a day like today, and being able to set eyes upon his children was always a relief after a battle. Still, the losses they had taken weighed heavily upon him, just as they always did. The Crown weighed far more than it ever should

"Why a storehouse?" His daughter's voice broke him from the melancholy, his eyes turning to her. Blue eyes were curious and confused, just like they so often were. It was a beautiful sight, and one that helped remind him of just why it was that he fought so hard.

"Our Link's stockpile is already getting unmanageable, my dear." That had not been what she meant and he knew it, but his wonderful daughter pouting at him was far too amusing a sight to pass up. Now that she was actually present and participating, rather than half of her mind circling whatever he had interrupted.

"It is not that large yet, father. Even if it was, however…why not the castle?" Gaepora hummed, considering. Yes, it was true, they had entire wings of the castle that had not been used in centuries. They were intentionally left empty, just in case the city was at risk of falling and they needed to evacuate the people.

It would be of no issue at all to provide Link with an entire wing of the castle to do with as he wished. It would keep him close, keep him content, and allow him to stockpile things to his heart's desire. It was not as if he did not deserve to, even. If there was one person in the entire Kingdom who should be able to spend his time off in a castle, with servants taking care of his needs, it was Link. The one person capable of killing four darknuts and three wizzrobes in, from his description, a handful of minutes.

"Because he is not happy there." Sorrow, yet acceptance, crossed her face. Zelda knew it as well as he did. Link was only ever happy around Zelda and, as of this week, when he was not kept to a schedule. It was odd how easily four days could change your entire perspective of someone. Even odder still was how much them breaking a curse set upon them since birth could make them change even more.

No, better to let Link make his own decisions. To give him some freedom, that which he had not had since they had taken him in. The boy was in a position mentally where he could actually make choices now, after all. He could go about his life like a somewhat normal person, no longer leashed to the orders given to him. No longer sent from task to task like a servant, but acting as a person with their own desires that extended further than "Zelda, food, and sleep".

"No, he is not." Zelda's words were filled with melancholy, and Gaepora understood that. He certainly felt it himself, after all.

"It is why I am offering a storehouse rather than an actual house, however. A place to go where he has a break from Skyloft as a whole, or when he needs time away from the castle in particular." His daughter nodded.

"It still makes sure he sleeps in the castle, however." Gaepora was the one to nod now. Of course it did; he was not so cruel as to even try to deprive his daughter of Link's company. Nor Link of hers, for that matter.

"So what happened with the Monster Party?" The King felt a frown creasing his face; he had just been getting away from that. No matter, it was always going to come back up.

So he explained it. Zelda was far more interested in the fine details than Link was, so he went further into it than he ever would discussing it with his son. How and when they had discovered the incoming assault, the preparations, the shuffling of resources to face it. The strategizing, the decisions made on who would face it. Considerations as to whether or not to go himself, the insistence by Hinea that she would be going. The sudden appearance of the Lizalfos party that caught them off guard and required an urgent reshuffling of resources to handle. The trail of devastation brought by the Hinox.

Link's head rose up right about the point where he was beginning to detail the actual fight, and the boy had a strange look as he described the fight. A mixture between finding it difficult to understand how hard it was for average people to fight and horror at the toll reaped upon the Skylians. It was an interesting difference from the way these conversations normally went, truthfully.

Link had always grieved for the fallen, but it was distant at best. Now Link looked guilty, as if he was somehow responsible for the dead. Gaepora shifted his attention more fully to the boy as he made that connection, frowning at him.

"Whatever guilt you have in your mind, ignore it." Link blinked, confused. Gaepora just looked at him sternly, trying to make sure he understood.

"You are not responsible for the monsters, Link. You did not draw them here, nor does a single person in all of Skyloft expect a child in training to stand between them and the enemy. Every single soldier in the army signs up with the understanding that there is a strong possibility to die for Skyloft. Not a single one of them would even want you to stand between them and the monsters they have trained to fight." Teeth worried at his lower lip for a moment, a habit picked up from his daughter.

"I could have dealt with it, without casualties." Gaepora had known a Link unburdened by the darkness in his mind for a little over four days. He adored him, loved his son even more because of it. It did not change the fact that, as those far too accurate words rang through his mind, a small part of him wished that Link had returned to his previous normal for the evening.

"You are probably correct, Link. Are you aware, however, of just how little that changes?" A frown, the child confused once more. That was fine; Gaepora was the Headmaster of the Knight Academy for a reason beyond making sure the future Knights were the best they could be, after all. He had always found great joy in teaching, after all.

"Let us say that you did destroy the monsters today. Would you then be fighting every group of monsters from then on?" Link looked like he was perfectly willing to, and sadly enough he probably could handle it. Judging by the records of what the previous Heroes had been capable of…well. They single-handedly turned the Incursions around, so Link probably could handle nearly every threat to Skyloft.

"How much do you think that would cost you, Link? To be active so many hours a day, to have every moment of your life consumed with battle. Then, at the end of your life, hopefully at least two hundred years from now, you would be unable to fight the way you can now. Skyloft would have a lack of veterans, a lack of experienced soldiers of the level needed to survive." Blue eyes reluctantly took his point, Link looking away. Zelda squeezed him gently, her own voice speaking up.

"It is admirable for you to want to defend us all, Link…but it is not a fate that either of us would wish for you, no matter how willing you are. To fight every single threat is something we would ask of nobody, no matter how strong." Gaepora nodded in grim agreement. No matter how strong Link was, he deserved better than to be the singular force cleaning up Skyloft.

"Now, let us move on to lighter topics. Have you decided what you want now?" A nod, and Link paused for a moment before speaking.

"Yes, but you probably won't like it though." Gaepora looked at him. Link, who had always gone with the flow of events in life, rarely if ever making his own decisions. His child who had spent a decade in a fugue, and now he was waking up. The King of Skyloft was reasonably sure that Link could ask for anything and he would be fine with it. So he inclined his head and waited for Link to speak.

"I want to turn the storehouse into a proper house, and if possible…I kind of want it on a mountain." A blink, amusement and hurt cycling through his heart. Gaepora pushed away the hurt, focusing instead on the last bit. Why a mountain?

Link began to explain, starting off with the reason why he wanted an actual house rather than a storehouse. A reason that had Gaepora's daughter melting against him and Gaepora's bit of hurt dwindling down into nothing.

The boy wanted a proper house for one very simple reason. He had been a constant companion of Zelda for years now, and he had noticed something that he did not like. Zelda had been most relaxed in these rooms: the Knight Academy quarters. When it was just the two of them she relaxed and was not forced to hold herself to the same standard she did everywhere else, something Gaepora could easily admit was true.

Even in the castle, Zelda still had to keep up an appearance. She had moments of rest, of course, but the expectation of her acting like a Princess should was always there. The servants had very clear opinions on how the Royals should be treated, after all, despite generations of the Royal Family attempting to convince them otherwise. It was an attitude that had been created by the, in all truth, ridiculous levels of respect the Royal Family was regarded with by most of Skyloft.

Then there were the other stressors present within the castle. Nobility, the constant contact with the army, the constant reminder of the state of Skyloft…even Gaepora needed breaks from it. It was one of the main reasons that he kept a room at the Knight Academy, in fact.

So Gaepora soothed his son in all but blood, complimented him for his thoughtfulness, and they began to settle into the deeper details of it. Link having a house was no real issue. Even if, yes, it would hurt to see him less, if Link wanted to move out Gaepora would allow it. This, however…this would work.

Besides…nothing stopped him from going to see his children. After all, he had no doubt in his mind that any time Link retreated to his home, Zelda would follow.

The three began to talk more about the idea, Gaepora letting the words wash over him. He paid attention, certainly, making notes both mental and physical of the preferences stated and ideas shared, but a not so small part of him just basked in this. Simple conversation, with both of his children participating actively. Speaking to each other as much as they were him, Zelda giving suggestions and Link responding without actual thoughts and opinions rather than just letting her dominate the conversation.

It was, all in all, a wonderful way to recover after the loss of his people that day. It was hardly enough to remove the guilt, to remove the lingering sense of failure, but it was enough to soothe it all. It was a lovely way to spend an evening, with those who meant the most to him in the world. They were safe, they were happy, and even with the burdens placed upon them by the world they were thriving. What more could a father ask for?

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and all too soon it was time for him to leave. He had a list of things to go into the house, several ideas for the ideal place that Link wanted it at, and his own ideas for it as well. It would take a while; Link's requests were, while not difficult, certainly time consuming. It also would not be able to get started until after the upcoming Festival, but that was fine. These were merely preliminary ideas, after all.

Gaepora was honestly a bit excited for it, despite himself. The idea of making sure his children received the best possible house had him tossing aside his desire to keep them close with astonishing ease. It was helped by Link's assurance that he had no intentions to live there permanently, but Gaepora was far happier with it than he expected to be. Perhaps…

No, he knew what it was. Link had come so far, and so quickly. How could he go against that, when it came to something so simple? The King smiled to himself, wishing his children a pleasant night. This had been a wonderful diversion. Tomorrow would be the funerals of the fallen, and would be a darker day, but little moments of peace such as this made it easier to bear.

~~The Eternal Game~~

Zelda closed the door with a sigh, locking it behind her father.

She loved her father; truly, she did. Sometimes, however, he had the worst timing. Of all the days for him to show up and spend a few hours with them, it had to be the day where Link had kissed her.

The mere thought of it had her mind going pleasantly fuzzy once more, cheek tingling where his lips had touched. Goddess, today had been wonderful. A lovely breakfast with her Link and morning cuddles, a day of weaving so productive she had spent it in a fugue, and then the affection that came from Link. It was telling that the worst part of such a wonderful day had been her father stopping by for dinner.

It was not even that she had an issue with it. Any other day she would have been delighted to see him, happy to spend an evening with him. Today, of all days, however? No, she would have been far happier if her father had not shown up. If the tenderness and softness that Link had been looking at her with had not been removed in the span of a blink, leaving her bereft of a warmth that she had not known she was missing.

"It wasn't that bad." Her Link's voice was quiet and warm, and she turned to him, back leaning against the door. His hands were busy in the sink, but his eyes were on her, much to her pleasure.

"No, it was not, yet it was also not how I had planned to spend the evening." Blue eyes, full of warmth, looked at her with empathy. Link did not need words to get across that he had also been looking forward to the evening, whatever form it may have actually taken. It might not have been what she was fantasizing about, but it would have been wonderful regardless.

Zelda took a deep breath, not quite a sigh but close, exhaling the negativity. It had been a pleasant evening, even if not what she had desired. She should not be bitter over it not turning into what she had hoped for, especially when she was not even sure if they were ready to take that next step.

She walked over to him; to her Link. The boy she loved, had loved for years now, and who was finally responding to her in that way. He had always cared for her, she had no doubt of that, but these past few days had been so much more. She wanted to take things further, to return that kiss and go so much farther…and at the same time, that was the last thing she wanted.

To go slow, or to go fast; they were questions she had wrestled with this week. A question that had kept her awake far longer than it should have, and one that even now she did not have a true answer to. Each time she tried to convince herself to go fast, however, the depressing certainty of her weakness rose up and convinced her not to.

Zelda had clung onto Link as hard as he had always held to her, after all. For almost her entire remembered life, he had been there beside her, and she had gotten used to it. She knew, beyond any possible doubt, that if she were to let herself do as she wished…well. Her responsibilities would not be completed, and her father would be knocking at the door the next morning in concern over the fact that they had not left it.

The flash of heat in her core allowed her no delusions; if Link had actually kissed her on the lips her father would have found them in a far more compromising position. Even now she wanted to continue it. Her arm brushed against his as she helped with the dishes, the warmth inside her only growing at the contact. Zelda wanted nothing more than to press him against the cabinets, where he would have nowhere to escape to, and start kissing him.

Goddess, she could still feel his soft lips upon her cheek. It made her want more, just enough to hint at the wonders she had read about. Even as they stood there, side-by-side, she wanted more.

She was grateful for what she had, however, and in the interests of not causing herself problems, she did not push further. As much as she ached for more, there were several things she was trying to avoid. Pushing Link, for starters; just the fact that he had kissed her on the cheek rather than the lips showed that he was not yet comfortable with even that much.

She had seen his eyes upon her lips, the consideration within them. Had seen him choose instead to kiss her cheek, the flashes of something that had shaken his will to go further. Had it been the vitriol so many servants had leveled at him? The endless lectures of propriety and proper behavior around a princess? Perhaps something deeper, such as a confidence issue and not being sure about the gesture being as welcomed as it truly would be.

No matter; she had a plan in mind for the moment of confession, one solidified over the past few days. Her Link was going to win the competition, and they would be in a place of unmonitored solitude atop the palms of the Goddess Statue. It would be a wonderful place to tell him of how much he meant to her, how much he had always meant to her, and with it being the final day of the festival they would have a few days of peace before the school year started up once more. Several days where there would be no expectations upon them, where they would not have to meet with anyone.

Several days where the two of them could explore things. Whether that was their new relationship, or perhaps more preferably each others bodies, did not truly matter. What mattered was that they would have the peace and quiet of having zero responsibilities for a few days. A time span she would need in order to just be capable of letting him go. It was hard enough this week to leave him behind every day, after all. She did not even want to imagine how hard it would be if they had actually taken that next step.

Perhaps it was cowardice on her part…but then, perhaps it was pragmatism. Better to spend this week apart, to let Link settle into being far more present than ever before. To let herself adjust to a Link that was more present than she had ever even dreamed of him being. This way, when they did become one, both of them had accepted what they were getting into.

"Zelda…would you mind doing something for me?" Then her Link's voice, quiet and uncertain, rang out. She looked at him, blue eyes unsure and posture nervous, and nearly melted once more. Why did he have to make it so difficult to even consider denying him things? Not that she would; this week was the first time he had ever asked for anything, after all, and that was an attitude she wished to encourage. There was nothing wrong with him being a little selfish, after all. Even if he had yet to do anything she would consider selfish anyways…

"What would you like?" Her imagination ran wild after the events of earlier, and she could not help but wonder just what he wanted. Perhaps more cuddling? For her to read to him once more? More time spent resting his head upon her lap? No, those were things she wanted, not him…

"Can I…Can I brush your hair?" Zelda's mind found itself stuttering to a stop for several seconds, incredulity the only thing present within it. That was what she was supposed to do for him? In what world was that her doing something for him?

"I would enjoy every second of it." Her mouth moved before her brain had a chance to catch up, and heat flared to life upon her face. Link just smiled at her, however, and she could not find it within herself to be upset with her mouth running away from her. Still…it felt rather selfish to have his hands upon her being treated as something she was doing for him.

"That is hardly me doing something for you, however. Are you certain you do not want me to brush your hair? That would be more along the lines of a favor you ask for." Link shook his head, something of a rueful smile crossing his face.

"You've had your hands in my hair almost every day this week. I tried it earlier on you and I kind of want to do it again." Well…Zelda would not protest that. The thought of having Link's hands in her hair again, touching her all over, was enough to make her happy and hot beneath her tunic. So she nodded her assent, watching as her Link grew so happy from something so simple, and went to get her brush.

Perhaps this was another reason to hold off, in truth. Link was so pure compared to her. Ever since she had hit puberty she had had such filthy desires for her Link, whereas the first time he had even looked at her body with any degree of want had been this week. Even that had been limited to moments where she had intentionally inspired it, or moments where he could not avoid it.

A few moments passed and she was seated before him, her brush in his hand. Soft and gentle brushing followed, and Zelda found herself relaxing far more than she had expected. His touch was soothing in a way that it had not been earlier, when it had been solely designed to stop her from giving him the praise he deserved. Warmth and the gentle motions lulled her into a trance, one that she was not eager to see stopped.

A humming started up, just in the range of her hearing, something she did not believe that Link was intending to do. A slow and soothing tune, one that she did not recognize. Distinct tones that settled into her bones and soothed, peace and serenity dimming even the fires his earlier actions had stoked within her. She could feel magic to it, could just taste the tones of something she did not recognize held within it.

Combined with the brushing, however, and she was nearly being sent to sleep. A beautiful end to a beautiful day. Perhaps…perhaps she would ask Link to do this again, in the future. A selfish request, truly, but if he had been the one to want to do it surely it meant he would not mind…right?

Which was when Link changed his actions without warning.

The brushing stopped, the tool itself set upon the table, a sleepy Zelda barely able to recognize the noise. Then fingers, warm and soft, began to thread through her hair. Then fingertips pressed against her head, gently, with just enough strength and pressure to make it feel good, and Link began to massage her head. Zelda melted almost immediately, a wordless murmur of protest dying in her throat even as Link giggled at her.

"I think it's only fair, you know." His words were whispered so closely to her ear she could feel his breath washing over it, her body shivering at the feeling.

"You've been so eager to get your fingers into my hair these past few days, I think it's time to return the favor." A moan, long and helpless, left her lips as his fingers massaged soft circles into her skull. No mercy was given to her, fingers far more talented than they had any right to be finding points of tension and targeting them. Far too quickly she was whimpering, mind going pleasantly numb, as his fingers landed right behind her ears.

Her body jolted, shivering, an exceptionally sensitive body part lavished with love, and Link had neither the kindness nor cruelty within him to stop. Heat mixed with pleasure within her, the wonderful feeling of a loving and attentive masseuse mixing with the filth her memories were pouring into her thoughts. So many books had she read where the main character or a love interest had started interesting scenes just like this.

What would Zelda do if his hands drifted down to her shoulders, still massaging? Would she even have the strength or the will to stop him? What if he drifted further down still, massaging his way forward, to squeeze at breasts that ached suddenly? She would let him do it; Goddess she wished for him to do it. To let those hands drift further still, down to the part of her that even now begged for his attention…

'No. Not like this. Link is not ready yet…' Her thoughts were firm, yet her own mind betrayed her. So what if Link was not ready yet? He would follow her lead, he always had. It would be so easy to grab his hands and drag them down, to have him touch the areas that would scandalize all of those servants who had shattered his self confidence…

But then, that would require mustering up the strength to move, and right now that was far beyond her. Link's fingers found every spot to make her melt against him, to the point where she found herself leaning against his chest now without even intending to. Her mind was a muddled mess of warmth, pleasure, and want that she could barely make sense of, far less command.

Link just smiled down at her, gently and adoringly, and kept massaging her. His chest moved, her head moving with it, and Zelda drifted in a sea of gentle wonder and pleasure. Even when it finally ended, Goddess knew how long later, it took her several minutes to even move. Then several minutes to stop holding her Link close after she hugged him in gratitude. Then several more minutes just to let him go to bed.

Even later still, after she too had gone to bed, her mind refused to stop circling around him. Around his touch, his eyes, his smile, his body. Around the things she wanted to do with him, the things she wanted to do to him.

Zelda grew hotter and hotter, breath coming in short pants, laying alone in her bed in the dark. Goddess, she wanted her Link. She wanted him to touch her, to kiss her, to claim her. To fulfill everything the books had ever told her about and more, things she'd taken ideas of from them and found herself wanting.

Goddess, she was filthy.

A choked off whimper left her lips, body shaking in the darkness. Her Link was content with merely brushing her hair and giving her a massage, so pure that it took her forcing things for his eyes to wander, and here she was imagining more. Imaging the way his lips would feel against her, and her lips would feel against him. Imagining what they could do to each other, should they allow themselves to.

Her hands begin to drift, just as she wished Link's would do. Fire trailed across her flesh, following her fingertips, as her hands landed upon her chest. Generous swells, much more than a handful each; she squeezed them, massaging them in the same way Links fingers had touched her head. Would he like these? Would he want to touch them, to kiss them? Bury his head within them and shelter from the world, in a place where only the two of them mattered?

Goddess, she wished for it to be so. His lips kissing them, perfect teeth nipping at them, sucking at the nipples that pebbled up even now. Perhaps…perhaps even further, allowing her to engulf him within them? She had read more than one book where the woman loved her partner enough to sink to her knees for them, to engulf his shaft with her lips or with her breasts. Zelda wondered what that would feel like, what that would taste like.

One hand drifted further down still, trailing fire across her tummy. Link's lips had been so close to that; did he like the way it looked? Did he wish to see it bare, would he enjoy it even half as much as she adored seeing him shirtless?

A moan, low and husky, left her lips as fingers brushed up against her core. The one place she wanted Link to touch the most, beyond anything else. Would he wish to play with it, as she was now? To taste it, as so many stories had told her males enjoyed? Would his lips and tongue adore it as much as she wanted hers to taste him?

Then there was the other part; his cock. So many ways to describe it, so many different variants she had read. Would he have a longsword, impaling her so deliciously full that it was near impossible to think of anything but him ever again? A club, with which to bludgeon her into submission? Perhaps even a dagger, small and adorable, to sheath within her and only leave when he had to.

Zelda did not know which she would rather him have, in truth. All she knew was that, as her fingers began to dance across her flesh, she wanted him. A certain spot, jolts running through her body as her fingers brushed over it.

"Link…oh Link…please…" She had to be quiet; Link's hearing was so very sharp, but she could not help herself. His name left her lips like a prayer, fingers mimicking his movements against that special place, breath coming fast and hard.

Would he hear her, perhaps? Would he come in here, answering her summons, and see what she was doing? Would he find it attractive, perhaps, or disgusting? She should not be doing this, definitely should not be pleasuring herself for the second time in a few nights, but she could not help it. Her Link was just too much for her, and she was just a normal girl.

Her eyes opened, landing upon the Silent Princesses still in bloom on her nightstand. A soft blue glow radiated from them, and her teeth bit into her lower lip as her fingers moved faster. He was wonderful, truly, and here she was, dirtying herself to the mere thought of him.

Zelda's breath hitched, another moan ripped from her lips as her body heated up. Goddess, she would not last long like this. Thoughts of Link, of the things she wanted to do with him, her fingers a pitiful substitute for him…it would make this end far too quickly. She slowed down, despite how her body begged her for more. It was alright; her body and mind alike needed more, but not from her.

Her Link was the only thing that could satiate this heat, that much she knew. She wished for him to come through the door and join her. Her legs spread apart at the mere thought, and a whine of desperation left her throat. Fingers moved faster, harshly pressing against her chest and her core, unable to slow down again. His lips against her body, his fingers against her body, his cock pressing into her body…it was all she could think of.

She wanted him atop her, thrusting deep into her. She wanted her face pressed harshly into a pillow, her Link's hand pulling sharply at her hair. She wanted to be atop him, watching as blue eyes full of love were washed over with pleasure. Zelda wished for nothing more than to see those beautiful features contort from the ecstasy she could give him.

To feel him fill her up, whether it was a little or a lot. To plant her lips against his most private place, to swallow him deep within her and not let him go until he was pleading with her to stop. To be on her knees before him, head bobbing up and down and listening to him moan. To have him on his knees before her, squeezing his temples with her thighs. To be tasting him alongside another blond-haired girl…

Wait, that was not right…

Heat flared up within her regardless as something new entered her fantasy. For the first time in her life, Zelda thought of having another girl pleasure her Link alongside her, and more importantly? She did not mind it. To see another girl, looking up at her Link with love and devotion, to give him all of the happiness he deserved alongside her…

Zelda shook her head, forcing that fantasy away and focusing upon her Link once more. She would examine that later; right now she wanted to imagine her Link. The way his eyes would glaze over with pleasure as they explored each others bodies, the way his fingers and tongue would feel against her. The way he would stretch her.

The way he would look so delighted as his cock was sandwiched between two pairs of breasts.

With waves of pleasure washing over her, Zelda did not have the strength to push it away again. Instead she embraced it, wondering how delighted Link would look at having two girls playing with him rather than one. Wondering how he would react to having two girls all over him. He was so innocent, so sweet and caring…and they would drag him down into such filth.

Her teeth bit into one of her pillows, body shaking as ecstasy struck. Her fingers kept moving, her mind kept spinning, and for several more minutes she cherished the thought of it, of him. Of a Link rendered completely stress free and pleasured, utterly exhausted by several women doing their best to give him all the love and adoration he deserved.

The Princess of Skyloft was left wondering where it had all come from, and why that peak had been so much stronger than any before it, for some time after. Was left wondering why the thought of pleasuring her Link alongside another girl was hitting her so suddenly, when she had never cared for it before. Was it leftover from the strangeness of earlier, during the weaving? Was it something else?

She did not know. All that Zelda knew as she lay there was that she liked it. Her dreams were filled with Link, as they always were, but for the first time? They featured more blondes than just the two of them. Blond hair, white hair, purple hair, red hair; a variety of women pleasuring her Link alongside her, to her confusion…but also to her pleasure.

Her head glowed softly, a golden color lighting up the room alongside the blue of the flowers, but Zelda was not awake to see it. None would see it, even as the dreams were enjoyed. All that mattered to Zelda was how truly wonderful the dreams were, and the feelings of love and adoration within her when she awoke.

~~End~~

AN: First lime I've written since…gods, since I was a fucking edgy little shit in high school. Not too much detail, not yet, it wasn't intended for people to dive into. More a way to show where Zelda's head is after the Silent Princesses and the events of this evening, as well as show off a few other things that you may or may not catch. Yes, however, in case it wasn't clear, the "other women" suddenly appearing in her fantasy was in fact from an external force. What that force is, however? Well, you'll just have to find out eventually. Assuming it's not partially obvious at least.

The lime is also intended to be a bit of a condolence to myself, and less so to you lot, for the fact that Link did fail to kiss her. I have a plan for their first kiss, and unfortunately blueballing is a part of it.

If you are curious, the expression "torogao" would most closely describe the way Zelda's face looked while Link was massaging her head, both when he was looking at her and right before he brushed her hair. Someone in the SGO discord posted an argument as to why it was better than Aheago, and I find myself agreeing. So I decided to use it to wrap up the chapter, and continue the eternal Thirst from Zelda.

Anyways, chapter read and feedback given by Slothful and RobynTheWitch. Work is hell, as normal, though I did have this weekend off. Spent most of it catching up on sleep. Chapter 6 still isn't finished, so expect it on the second Sunday of March, with my update schedule once again depending upon work. Anyways, hope you lot enjoy it. I have also added in a few images of various characters below. For those of you not reading on questionable questing, the images are on that website, though you will need an account to get on there. Fic name and profile name are the same there. Fic is also on AO3 and , but no pictures there.

Hope you enjoy.