Chapter 7

Before he'd had time to see it, Link had stepped into the glowing spot outside Purah's laboratory door. This vision started out quite distorted. Everything was shaded gold before it turned his vision into normal colors a few seconds later. This memory was not Shara's, but somehow, he knew the face in front of him.

It was Zelda's.


Link watched in awe as Zelda, not Shara, stood at Purah's door. Why was this happening now? Had Purah done something else to the Sheikah Slate, other than add photo album capability? Were Shara's memories all used up, gone with none of her other memories to fill their place?

Would he ever see her again?

In this memory, it was dawn outside, the sky as pink as a budding swift violet in spring. But as Link looked up and observed closer, it was not the pink he knew. For one, the clouds were dark, as if it had rained recently. The grass was damp, and Zelda was soaked and her clothes were muddy. And some sort of shadow swirled around in the sky where the clouds could not reach. Something malicious was happening with this time in the world, and Link feared the worst.

By the weariness on her face, the princess looked like she'd been outside all night. Her cheeks and eyes were pink, dehydrated by tears. She stood morosely at the threshold, lost in her thoughts. A beautiful sword, a royal relic, was strapped to her back.

Where was Link in this time?

The door opened and Purah's head poked through. She opened it wider so Zelda could go in, but the princess was rooted to the spot. She could barely look up.

Purah's face instantly fell when she took in the princess's mien. "He's gone?"

Zelda didn't look away from the woodgrain of the door. If she had any more tears to cry, she would. Her shoulders dropped even further than they had been, and she nodded with effort.

Purah, still a young woman in this time, looked on as Zelda grieved. Then she stepped out of the lab, leaving the door open behind her. She gave Zelda a hug, which didn't get returned. Letting the embrace die down, Purah pulled away and gestured to Zelda's Sheikah Slate. "Let me see that, then."

The princess lifted the tablet away from her belt, but didn't seem to have the strength to hand it over. The scholar reached down and pulled it out of her hands. Then she went inside, still without closing the door, and set the tablet on the podium that had given Link's slate an upgrade not a few minutes ago. "I'll take care of this," Purah said.

Zelda brought her head up slightly then, as if in acknowledgement. Purah made her way back to the princess, then gestured to the sword strapped on the princess's back. "Do you need me to take care of this as well?" she asked as she went behind Zelda and unhooked the sword. Then she circled back in front of her and held out the sword on her palms, resting in its scabbard, a faint blue glow emanating from the opening at the hilt.

The princess held out her arms and rested her hands above the sword. She shakily breathed in, as if to speak, then exhaled, her face wrought with pain.

"Let me do this for you. I'll take it back to the Great Deku Tree," Purah said, moving to pull the sword back.

"No," Zelda rasped, soft but firm. Then she gripped the sword tightly, preventing Purah from taking it. "I will take it."

Purah slowly let go, letting the weight of it fall into the princess's hands. "All right."

Zelda's gaze then went to the Sheikah Slate on the podium behind Purah. The scholar followed her eyes and understood. "I'm going to leave it with him. At the Shrine. I should be there to close it up. My student Shara will help me. We have one chance to do it right."

Zelda caught her eyes then, as if finally believing what was happening. "Please, Purah," she whispered. "Save him. I'll return the sword to its rightful place by the Great Deku Tree, and then I'm going to do what I can to hold back Calamity Ganon." Still, she didn't move.

Purah nodded. "I know you'll do just fine."

At this, Zelda slowly put the sword back on her back. "I have to. Or Link's death will be for naught. He needs something to return to when he wakes."


The vision faded in a dull brown, then a golden light flashed again in his mind, and he was back on Purah's porch, right where the princess had been.

Link looked down at the upgraded Sheikah Slate in his hands. He went through the photos again, and still none of them sparked any remembrance. So, he opened the camera capability, stepped away from the lab, and snapped a photo of the threshold, exactly where the princess had stood one hundred years ago.


A week later, Link found himself lost in the Great Hyrule Forest. Asking around in stables on the way to the forest gave him a good idea of what to expect, but words were nothing like the real thing. He would go past one tree, instantly forget where he was, then turn around and forget again. It was frustrating beyond belief. And the further he went in, the more, with no better way to describe it, cackling sounds haunted his steps. The villagers and travelers didn't tell him about those. So perhaps they were all in his head? It sounded like very young children giggling, but that couldn't be right. No one in their right mind would come here, even a naïve child.

But he knew he had to get to the Great Deku Tree, and it was somewhere in this forest. Link wondered what was so special about this tree, and why this tree was the guardian of the Master Sword. It would have been easier for Link if the sword appeared out of the mists and right into his hands. But it had to be difficult to obtain, otherwise it wouldn't be worth it, right? That's what he told himself to make himself feel better.

After over an hour of wandering, he sat down on an abandoned stump. He hadn't seen that stump yet, so he liked to think he was making some semblance of progress. It was foggy in this forest, a dense blanket that refused to let up, no matter how far he went. There were a few times he passed a tree, and the fog seemed to move, which was to him a good sign. That was at least something different from the dizzying monotony he found in the rest of the forest. So, rested, he decided to try some more. He would venture through the fog, and if it seemed to move, he would follow it. The method of navigation couldn't have been worse than what he'd already been doing.

With each tree he passed, the giggling got louder. Was it the fog making noise? Or was it his imagination playing tricks on him? As he ventured further into the forest, the chills dancing up his arms increased, but he was at least getting somewhere. He'd need to find the middle of this forest soon, then maybe he'd feel better about his decisions.

Finally, the trees opened up into a clearing, and the fog started to roll away, as if the forest was welcoming him. The chill in the air went away, though the childlike laughing lingered. Puzzled but determined, Link moved inward. Grassy cliffs began to surround him as he walked, blocking out what little sun filtered through the trees. He found a path trodden by tiny, lightweight feet, and he followed it down into a bright clearing decorated with glowing plants and flowers. Link's unease seemed to dissipate as quickly as the fog.

Tiny beings like sapling trees meandered around in the meadow, playing with the bulbs of the large glowing flowers and fiddling with sticks. The giggling noises in the fog, and the rumors about Koroks, made sense then. They went up to his knees, and he had to be careful not to ruin their fun by accidentally stepping on them. They were like fairies, but treelike and innocent, their faces made up of leaves and their bodies made of stems and bulbs. Link watched them amusedly, then proceeded onward as they grinned at him.

The Master Sword stood upright in a stone slab in the middle of the clearing. Behind it, a tremendous tree loomed, cementing in Link's mind its status as guardian of the forest. It was taller than any other tree in the forest, and wider than an entire house. Its front was shaped to have a face, though whether it grew like that or was artificially made like that, Link didn't know. Where the eyes might be, two cave-like indentations stared at Link, almost causing him to shiver. A gaping maw served as an entrance into the tree's trunk, where Link could see an incline to the inside.

Reverent, Link walked up to the sword, daring not to touch it. What would happen if he pulled it out? Would it prove he was the Hero? For a moment, Link wanted to believe that it was all a dream. That he was not the Hero, and Hyrule and the princess weren't depending on him. That there was no Shara who watched him die in the middle of the desert. That there was some other Link that was supposed to come and take his place. He wanted to deny it all, but in his heart, he couldn't—he knew.

He touched the sword handle, and as he did, a powerful groaning noise came from the Great Deku Tree.

"Ah," it said, though Link didn't know how. Perhaps it was in his mind. So many things were in his mind these days.

Link watched the tree warily, then touched the sword again. Again, the tree made a noise, and Link took his hand off.

"Link," the tree said. "Welcome back. It has been a long time." It spoke slowly, deliberately, but clearly. The Koroks in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and watched the Great Deku Tree expectantly, even excitedly.

"Yes," it said again. "I remember you. You came here once, with the princess, many years ago. The Master Sword called to you then as it calls to you now. It has been waiting."

Link pulled his hand away from the sword's hilt, listening to the tree's words. He certainly didn't imagine talking to trees on his list of things to do today. He thought he'd get through the forest, retrieve the sword, and exit. With all the effort it took to get here, it better have been worth it. And Link couldn't decide if a talking tree, the memories that weren't his, and the doom of the kingdom on his shoulders were worth it. But he nodded anyway, not needing to speak. The tree already knew his thoughts.

"The princess came here, after you died, to return the Master Sword. She nurtured it as one would a child, protecting it from harm. Hers was a mission unasked for and unthanked. If you have any reverence for her wishes, you would do well to become one with the Master Sword again, and take your place by her side." The Great Deku Tree boomed his words: gentle yet critical, human yet not.

Link touched the sword again, and it glowed a slight blue under his graze. It really was a beautiful weapon, forged by the Goddess and wielded only by the worthy. He questioned what made him worthy—why the sword called to him. He had been a Yiga. That was about as unworthy as one could be as a protector of Hyrule. What did the sword see in him that he didn't see in himself?

What were Shara's, and now Zelda's, memories not telling him?

Trust hardly came naturally to Link. As far as he was aware, he'd grown up in a literal den of thieves. What did they know about trust and honor? And he was somewhat of an integral part of the Clan. Master Gehrik had trusted Link with an infiltration mission, one of the most dangerous, with high stakes. Was Link even dependable? The ghost king trusted him with saving Hyrule and the princess, and he was so far making no progress with that. He didn't go see Impa when the king told him to; all he'd really done was follow Shara's memories around, trying to glean what he could from both his and her past.

At the end of it all, he still had no idea who he was, but he knew he did not deserve the sword.

Regardless, he gripped the hilt, metal and cold, with both hands and heaved. It slid right out of its pedestal, like a hot knife through butter. The shing of the steel as it slid against the stone was high-pitched, as if the sword were singing.

Link remembered everything.

Well, not everything. He remembered now what happened when he first retrieved the sword one hundred years ago. He had been in a line of soldiers accompanying the princess in the forest. The princess had talked to the tree. The soldiers tried their hands at pulling the sword, but it hadn't budged. Then Link had stepped up to it and pulled it out seamlessly, and the Great Deku Tree had talked with Link in his mind. The strongest part of this memory, however, was the most solemn look from the princess that Link had seen on anyone before or since. Her look of despair—that he could succeed at something while she could not. That his abilities were obvious, while hers were dormant in the shadows. That her prayers were supposed to be answered, while the Goddess seemed to favor Link instead.

He didn't want to remember her that way, but he had so few memories of her that he still couldn't piece her together. First, of her grieving over him with Purah, and now this abject disappointment in herself. He was no closer to knowing whether they had been friends or enemies, a princess and her knight, or something more. But now that he drew the sword from the pedestal, he believed he could try to understand better. The tree was right. He could desecrate the princess's memory by rejecting the sword, or honor it by embracing it and rescuing her from the Calamity's clutches.

The sword had chosen him, and he would make the most of it.

But he also decided that Shara's memories, and his relationship with her, past or present, would not be put on the back burner. He would do all he could to honor her lost memories, even if he didn't entirely remember her. Because he knew that she'd had an important part to play in his life, and he in hers. Besides, her memories were the first to reach out to him when he woke in the Shrine of Resurrection. Come back to me, Link. Come back home, was what she'd said, and then again in the memory of her tending his wounds in the desert. Shara had deeply cared for him, and at the core of his heart, he knew he'd cared for her too.

"Ah," the Great Deku Tree sighed. "Good. I can sense your heart, and I know that the sword is not wrong. I have spent many years with the Master Sword, in your past and present, and trust that you will take care of it and the princess. The sword is no longer waiting for you, but she is."

I know, Link thought, and the tree interpreted.

"She parted here with some words for you, but I asked her to save them. They are not for me. Go. Save her. You are the last bastion of hope in these Calamitous times," it said, its deep voice reverberating through the trees.

Link gave a small nod and turned, but he hesitated. Once he left this clearing, and this forest, he would be moving on to the rest of his life. The decisions made from here on would shape him forever.

The tree spoke one last time. "You ask yourself 'why me?' Only you can know that, unfortunately. I can't help you much further. You must now either go alone or not at all. I wish you the best of luck."

Link shook his head, not in denial but in wishing that it didn't all have to land on him. Still, the Great Deku Tree had a point. "Thank you," Link croaked, then headed out of the clearing.

He passed Koroks on his way out, which sighed in awe as he went. They'd seemed to have quite the adventure just seeing him there, as if they had never seen company in this part of the forest. Lost souls in the fog, sure. They giggled at those people all the time. But for someone to actually come into the clearing and converse with the Great Deku Tree, now that was a real treat for them.

Humming to himself as he went, Link entered the fog again, but did not feel as much trepidation as before. Now, he had a little more sense of purpose, if not belonging. It would be a long time before he belonged anywhere. But now he had a destination and a task. To Hyrule Castle. To defeat Calamity Ganon and bring the princess out of her throes of battle. Not only had the ghost king tasked him with saving her, but now the Great Deku Tree had as well.

Despite having been through the forest on the way in, Link still got lost several times, and the same things as before would happen. He would pass a tree, the fog would thicken, and he would hear the Korok voices giggling in the distance. Then the fog would move around, and he would be around a different set of trees than he'd seen a second before. He couldn't see the sky or the sun for direction, even though it was still light out, as far as he could remember. He'd entered the forest sometime in the morning, soon after staying the night at the Woodland Stable. He'd spent about an hour wandering around before the clearing, and he hadn't been long, so it should have only been noontime. Which also meant that if he could see the sun, it would be in the middle of the sky and wouldn't help much in giving him direction.

Now that Link had left the clearing, he realized just how dreary the rest of the forest really was. The clearing was bright, happy, and hopeful. The rest was dank, dark, and anxiety-inducing. And the giggling Koroks didn't help, either; despite their pleasant laughter, in this forest it sounded malicious.

After twenty minutes of wandering, trying to follow the fog's movements, Link finally found himself in a more familiar area—the pair of trees that framed the entrance to the forest. Relieved, he proceeded, now seeing more sunlight come through the trees as the fog receded and the trees thinned out, marking the end of the forest. It was indeed still daylight out, but the sun was further down the sky than he'd predicted. How long had he really been in there?

All that time, he'd had his new sword in his hand, as he didn't have a strap or pack for it. It didn't fit in his pack, and he didn't want it dangling haphazardly, so he'd held it in his hands, whacking thin branches or vines as he went. His arms weren't tired yet, but they would be soon. He admired the steel as he walked; it was as pristine as the day he'd retrieved it in his memory, as if polished by time.

The trees finally parted, and Link fully exited the woods. In the distance, he spotted the stable he'd stayed at prior, and he headed in that direction, soon landing on the path south.

Chaotic laughing greeted him as he stepped on the path, and out of nowhere, three Yiga soldiers materialized in front of him, blocking his way.

Link took a deep breath and held out the Master Sword in front of him. It was time to see what his new sword could do.