POV Link
I close the cottage door behind me after walking Zelda home. We just decided to suspend the exploration operations in the underground floors of Hyrule Castle—along with Purah, Robbie, and Paya, who recently took over as the Sheikah leader. Impa decided a few months ago that it was time to retire.
We're worried that the appearance of this strange toxic gas is a sign that the final attack we were warned about is about to happen. For this reason, we agreed that I should resume the quest to the Past—as the Deku Tree advised me so many years ago.
I lean against the tree next to the cottage, take out the Ocarina, and after a few moments of hesitation, preparing for the dreadful sensations of the journey, play the Song of Time, focusing on the second destination.
Just like last time, being carried back to the past is a horrendous experience. However, being prepared for it, this time I don't vomit or fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
I find myself outside. Before me is a large stone staircase, and in the background, there's a forest. I turn and see a double stone door, which seems to be a side entrance to some kind of temple. Intense energy emanates from this entrance, and I assume I should enter. Following the instructions, I play the Ode to the Hidden and, again, become invisible.
Careful not to make any noise, I push the door open slowly—hoping no one is looking this way. I enter the building and see it's empty. It really is a temple, very spacious, entirely built of stone. Various arches lead to different sections. In the center, several columns form a corridor from the main entrance to a staircase at the back of the hall. I see that at the top of the stairs, at the end of a platform, the wall is actually made up of gigantic sliding doors, also of stone.
They are slightly ajar, and an intense golden light escapes from there. After a few moments, the luminosity suddenly dissipates, and the doors open slowly.
Instinctively, I run behind one of the columns; I know it's unnecessary since I'm not visible—but I decide to trust my intuition.
Through the opening, a tall woman appears, seeming to be made of pure energy. Mesmerized, I watch as her skin gradually stops glowing and becomes like that of a common Hylian. Her hair is almost white and very long. She wears a white tunic that ends just above her bare feet. The way she moves is strangely familiar. I also notice she carries a small sword with a turquoise hilt, similar to the one Zelda described from her memories.
I understand, then, that I'm in the presence of Hylia. She looks curiously towards the column where I'm hiding and turns to walk in my direction. However, at that moment, the temple's front doors open, and the man I saw last time enters with firm steps. Seeing Hylia, he kneels and bows in reverence, one hand over his heart.
"Goddess Hylia," his voice is laden with emotion, and his gaze is lowered. "I came as soon as the rains subsided. Many of the villages along the way have been destroyed. Demise and his hordes burned dozens of homes with their families still inside. There was no time to save them."
The pain in Hylia's eyes at his words is indescribable.
"Please, rise, my love. I've asked you not to bow to me," she requests tenderly.
Completely absorbed in the scene, I watch as the man stands and walks towards the goddess. She extends the sword to him, which he carefully holds before examining it, weighing it in his hands and making a few cuts in the air to test its precision. They take care not to touch each other.
"It's a magnificent weapon, Hylia. This blade... is it imbued with your power?"
"Yes... I created it from my light energy," she says, unable to hide the pride she feels. "I believe if we strike Demise with it, he will fall. And then, we will finally have peace."
The man nods calmly, as if they were deciding what to have for dinner—not as if these were preparations for what could be their final battle. His eyes and voice are full of determination when he says:
"We will end this suffering today."
Hylia looks at him with affection and gratitude.
"Thank you, my love. None of this would be possible without your loyalty and courage."
The man bows his head in thanks. Then, they stare at each other for a few moments without saying anything.
"I believe we can't change the course of the attack," he continues. "It seems the hordes are heading here to the temple. How will you protect the entrance to the Sacred Realm?"
Hylia extends her hand to take back the sword and gives a mischievous smile.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," she says enigmatically. "Go gather the armies and return here as soon as possible."
The man gives a brief bow—causing Hylia to roll her eyes in displeasure—and leaves. As soon as the doors close behind him, her voice rises.
"You, hiding behind the column. Show yourself now," she orders, making my heart race instantly.
I think of fleeing, trying to play the Ocarina and return to the present, but I know I couldn't fight a goddess. I look down and see that I'm still invisible. I take a step to the side, entering Hylia's line of sight, facing her. She makes a gesture with her hand, and I see my invisibility end.
"Approach," she orders.
Completely panicked about causing what the Hero of Time called "another timeline branch," but unable to ignore an order from Hylia, I walk slowly towards her—with my hands raised to show I'm unarmed.
"I sensed your presence as soon as you appeared here. But I saw that your heart is pure, and there is no ill intent in your curious observation. I didn't want him to see you... so I waited until he left before we spoke."
She descends the steps and stops just in front of me. I need to look up because she is much taller than I am.
"I know you. Your energy seems..."—but she falls silent, frowning. "It's not possible. Tell me, soldier. Where did you come from? What are you looking for here?"
I stand paralyzed for a few seconds, and she encourages me to continue.
"I... I'm from a distant time. I came from the future."
She tilts her head, even more confused, and looks deeply into my eyes—as if trying to read my soul.
"Curious... When I am not materialized, I sit at the edge of Time. And yet, I can't recognize your origin. I wonder how it could be..."
Not knowing what to say, I just stand there in silence. After a few seconds, Hylia continues.
"Returning to my question. What are you looking for here?"
"Answers?" I ask, bewildered. "I don't know. I was instructed to come here to learn about what happened in the past..."—I try to explain, but at that moment, I am interrupted by a great commotion outside. Shouts, crashes...
They're trying to break down the temple's main door.
Hylia panics.
"No!" she screams, horrified. "I thought I had more time... go, go, return to your time! This battle is not yours," she orders, turning and running up the stairs.
My instinct tells me to stay and help. However, that would go against everything the Links instructed me. So, not wanting to cause even more trouble, I comply with her orders. I take out the Ocarina, play the Song of Time, and soon feel the familiar pull that returns me to the present.
Utterly dismayed, I fall to the ground in front of Zelda's cottage. I look around, worried that my interaction with Hylia might have caused some effect in this time. Everything seems the same as when I left, however.
Without thinking twice, I open the cottage door without even knocking. Zelda looks at me startled, in the exact same place she was when I said goodbye to her earlier. I understand that for her, only a few minutes must have passed. Too desperate to wait for her reaction, I exclaim:
"You need to retrieve your next memory now."
Her eyes are full of confusion since she knows I understand she can't control when she will receive the next memory.
"She saw me, Zelda," I say, in agony, while she continues looking at me without understanding. "Hylia, Hylia realized I was there!"
Zelda's eyes widen, now sharing my concern.
"Didn't the other Links tell you to avoid that at all costs?!"
"I was invisible; I didn't think she would sense my presence! Besides, before arriving at the scene, I didn't even know she would be there!"
"She's a goddess! OF COURSE she would see through that little Ocarina spell, Link!" says Zelda, with her hands on her head.
"How was I supposed to guess?!"
"I don't know! And now?!"
"Now we need you to remember what happens next, to see if my presence caused any problem. And then we need to check the kingdom to see if anything has changed."
"I can't make the memories come when I want, Link! How am I supposed to do that?" she asks, pacing frantically around the cottage.
"I don't know! Didn't it come in a dream last time? Go to sleep, then!"
"HOW, after all this excitement?! And why don't you go back there and find out, then?"
"I can't handle two trips in a row. And we need to know what Hylia perceived from that encounter, from her perspective."
We try to calm down, pondering what to do next.
"Maybe we could go for a walk, so I get tired," suggests Zelda. "It's still early... it's not even seven o'clock."
I'm surprised because I feel like I've been awake for a whole day. I agree, and we leave the cottage.
"Want me to saddle the horses?" I ask.
"No... let's go on foot. It's more tiring."
"Any suggestions on where you want to go?"
Zelda looks around, thinking.
"Hm... I've always wanted to know what's on top of that hill behind the cottage. We could climb up there. And we can check if there's anything strange in the kingdom since we'll be high up. Although... if you've altered the past, I wouldn't notice the difference, right? Would my memories change too?"
I shrug because I have no idea. I never spent much time questioning the effects of time travel. But it seems like as good an idea as any, so I agree with her suggestion, and we proceed. At some point in the past, I must have gone to the peak of this mountain, but I don't remember what's there.
We walk in silence, following the less steep trails that lead to the top of the hill. The journey would take a few hours. After some time, when we're almost halfway up, Zelda starts lagging behind—stopping to catch her breath frequently.
"Already tired, princess?" I tease, happy with the intimacy we've built over the past few months.
She sticks out her tongue in response to my taunt. Then gives a small laugh too.
"I think we've been depending on our horses too much lately. I'm out of shape."
I wait a few minutes until she recovers, and we continue on the trail. She then asks me to talk about something to distract her from the effort of climbing the mountain. So, I tell her about what I saw in this last trip—since, due to the urgency with which I entered the cottage, I couldn't give more details before.
I explain about the temple where I ended up, and how it seemed strangely familiar to me. I mention that I saw Hylia and the unknown man interacting and her theory on how the sword she created could destroy Demise. I describe the weapon, and Zelda confirms it's the same one she saw. With that, we confirm that we are definitely recovering parts of the same story.
"I wonder why this particular story," Zelda reflects. "All these problems seem so distant from us. Until now, we hadn't even heard of this Triforce thing."
"I also haven't identified a connection yet. But it must be important... why would they send us on this journey simultaneously if it weren't?"
Zelda shrugs, sharing the sentiment.
"Want to hear something funny?" I say. She looks at me curiously. "Hylia... when she appeared, she seemed very familiar to me. At first, I thought it was just an impression, considering there are several statues of her all over Hyrule. But it couldn't be that, because the statues don't look like her at all. But watching you walk now... it was you she reminded me of," I ponder, intrigued. "You move in a very similar way."
Zelda looks at me with incredulity and amusement in her eyes.
"Are you calling me a goddess, Link? What kind of pickup line is that?" she replies, laughing.
Realizing my own absurdity, I laugh too.
"The relationship between her and the unnamed man is fascinating..." Zelda ponders. "Even being from completely different worlds... they still formed such a strong connection. I wonder if they managed to be together in the end."
As she finishes this sentence, we reach the top of the hill. In the center of the small plateau, there is a lake. However, as a bad omen, we see that it is the shape of... a broken heart.