Before time, when the world existed in the void, three goddesses descended.
Din, the goddess of power.
Nayru, the goddess of wisdom.
Farore, the goddess of courage.
Din, with her strong flaming arms, created earth and cultivated the land. Nayru blessed that earth and gave the spirit of law to the world. Farore, with her rich soul, produced life who would uphold that law. The three goddesses, their labor completed, departed for the heavens.
In the wake of their departure, they left an item of immense power. A legendary triangle called the Triforce, said to grant the wish of anyone who possesses it. At some point, a demon of darkness appeared and unleashed devastation wherever it went.
Many champions tried to slay the monster, but none succeeded. The demon's rampage went unchallenged until the goddess Hylia took a patch of land and launched it into the sky. Centuries passed until a boy descended from the clouds, garbed in green, seeking his friend.
Through his journey he forged the Master Sword. Only the pure of heart could wield it, and if evil were to touch it, they would be destroyed. Using the sword, the Hero of the Sky slew the Demon. In his last moments, he swore revenge upon the spirit of hero and blood of the goddess.
Thus, the cycle began. The hero and dark one would be reincarnated throughout the ages. The hero always with the visage of the first hero while the dark one would take many forms. As for the blood of the goddess, it would be found in descendants from the reincarnated goddess Hylia.
Centuries passed, and the Kingdom of Hyrule was founded. Within and around it, the cycle would persist. One legend tells of a hero who could shrink. Another spoke of a hero crossing time. Still another spoke of an eternal twilight ended by a hero.
Just three of the countless legends tied to this cycle. With the last dark one of this cycle, he would unknowingly break it to gain enough power to slay the hero. While the hero did die, his body was put into a century-long slumber that would see him given a second chance.
Until the hero returned, the one with the goddesses' blood would keep the dark one imprisoned, but his reign had still ravaged the once prosperous kingdom. When the hero awoke, he saw the destruction of his home and learned of the deaths of his friends.
Joining forces with the decedent of the goddess, the dark one was slain, but the damage had been done. Hyrule had fallen. Not long after the hero and descendent of the goddess passed, two brothers appeared. The older sought creation while the younger sought destruction.
Their conflict would ravage the world until no life remained. Only after centuries of fighting, did they compromise. Together, they created Humans and bestowed upon them magic. The younger brother also created his ultimate creatures of destruction in the Grimm.
Despite the Grimm, for millennia, Humanity thrived. Through one human turning many against the brothers, all but that human were wiped out. Both brothers then took their leave, the younger one flying straight through the moon and raining debris on the planet.
As it often does, life finds a way. Modern Humans, lacking in magic, and Faunus appeared. They had strength, resourcefulness, and a way to control the very elements via crystalline structures called Dust. With weapons and Dust, civilization was reborn for the third time.
Sanus: Night…
A young man, 15 years old, walked through a forest teaming with the sounds of nature on a cloudless night. He had pointy ears, his dirty blond hair was tousled, and his eyes were blue. His build, while not scrawny, wasn't thickly muscled either.
He wore a white shirt underneath a green tunic, white pants, and brown boots. A gray bladed broadsword, with a darker gray hilt, was sheathed on his back with a matching shield while a similar colored rifle was sheathed at his side. Despite plain coloring, they were well made.
Suddenly, the sounds of nature he had been hearing were gone. The young man had patrolled many locations in his brief time, so he knew what this meant. He withdrew his sword and hand rifle just before the first Grimm jumped from the shadows of the forest.
It was bear-like with white bone plating covering its body, an Ursa. The young man had taken immediate aim and nailed it in the eye with a shot from his rifle, getting it to rear back. He then lunged forward, swinging for the neck and decapitated it.
He noticed three more sets of red eyes in the forest and immediately rolled back, leading to them crashing where he had been in a pile. With this time, he holstered his gun to then unsheathe his shield. The Grimm now glared at him, though only one charged him this time.
The young man planted his feet and bashed his shield into the charging Grimm, disorienting it. He then stepped forward and thrust his blade clean through its neck before retching his blade free out the right of its neck. The weight of said head saw it tearing and hitting the ground.
The body followed suit. These Grimm appeared to be at the age where they had a little intelligence as the remaining two suddenly become apprehensive. This young man had so easily felled two of them, so they were debating if this target was worth the effort.
Unfortunately for them, the young man couldn't afford to let them escape. Dashing towards the closest of the creatures, he got within its guard and followed up with a knee to the chin. This forced the beast's head up before he thrust his blade through the soft underside.
The blade's momentum carried it all the way through, but he quickly removed it before potentially going through the bone plating atop its head and getting stuck. The third Ursa then fell to the ground. Throwing caution to the wind, the final Ursa charged him.
The young man held his ground before dodging to the right at the last second. By executing a dodge like this, the young man's Semblance activated and resulted in everything within the immediate area slowing. He utilized this time to rapidly slash the Grimm.
When time resumed, the Grimm fell to the ground before dissipating just like the prior three. With the threat over, the sounds of nature slowly returned, and the warrior relaxed. He sheathed his blade and shield before continuing his patrol.
The young man eventually reached a clearing where the light of the shattered moon above was especially bright without the branches above to block it. "Baring anymore Grimm, I can soon return to the village for the…"
His train of thought stopped as a cold breeze, much too cold for this time of year, blew past him. He whirled around to see nothing. Upon turning back around, he was surprised by what stood across from him.
That's because it was him, at least nearly him. This version of himself was a tad transparent by comparison and had lighter blond hair, parts of which framed his face. His tunic was sky blue with intricate white designs. He also lacked any weapons to boot.
"Who are you?" The young man asked.
"One of many who have hoped for this since Hyrule fell thousands of years ago." The transparent young man answered.
"Hyrule…isn't that some mythological kingdom?" The young man inquired, having read about it in a book once.
"I see." A look of regret passed over the transparent young man's face. "Hyrule is nothing but a memory now. I suppose it is to be expected." He shook his head. "Anyways, to answer your prior question, my name is Link."
The young man was stunned. "He shares my name to!?"
"In actuality, names are for the living, so you may call me Wild." Wild continued.
"For the living?" Link questioned.
"I've been dead a long time now, though the spirit I inherited has been bequeathed to you upon being born." Wild answered.
"I'm your reincarnation?" Link asked.
He was finding it difficult to digest this, especially without something of Remnant to tie this back to. The closest he could come to was this being the work of Grimm; however, he didn't know of one capable of conjuring an image like this.
"One of many." Wild noted. "Allow me to explain properly. Long ago, three goddesses created what you see today. When they were done and departed, they left behind a powerful object in the Triforce. It grants a single wish to those who claim its three pieces.
If someone pure of heart were to claim it, Hyrule would enter a golden age. If someone with darkness in their heart lays claim to it, it would lead to ruin. Our first life defeated a demon seeking it, but before he perished, it swore vengeance. Thus, you get a cycle of reincarnation.
For ages, people bearing our visage and name have been born while he took on many a different form. Within this cycle, there existed princesses who bore the blood of the goddess' reincarnation. Before you, I was the last reincarnation of the spirit of the hero.
Just as with all of us before you, it is you who are destined to save this world and bring it back to prosperity. Though you are not strong enough yet, I know you have the potential and ability to fight the approaching darkness."
"How am I supposed to save the world?" Link asked.
"Eh." A look of surprise crossed Wild's face before he gave a soft smile. "You're not the first Link to ask that, nor is it guaranteed you will succeed."
Link realized the truth behind those words as his mind recalled what Wild had already said.
"I may have stopped the darkness of my era, but it cost nearly everything." Wild shook his head. "Believe me, there are other Links who've failed worse. Just like those who've failed and those who've succeeded, you have courage enough to try."
Link couldn't deny that. Despite his questioning, deep in his heart he recognized the truth of the matter. He might be confused and uncertain upon hearing these things, but never once did his courage leave him. Never once did Link doubt he'd try to save his world.
"While I'm not like a certain Link, in that he was quite accomplished despite what his regrets told him back then, I am still regretful enough to help you now." Wild informed. "To put it simply, I can guide you."
White lights coalesced around his hands, becoming a sword and shield. The blade was a longsword with a blue handle, green grip, and blue cross-guard shaped like a pair of extended wings. The shield was blue with three golden triangles, a red crest, and some bird depicted on it.
"One thing I can do now is give you a good fight." Wild voiced. "Who knows? A good fight might help you begin digesting things better."
"I was about to end my patrol anyways." Link drew his sword and shield. "Besides, I can only imagine this past life is far more skilled than I am now. If anything, fate of the world withstanding, I stand to potentially learn a lot."
Without a word, both assumed battle stances. Link drew his weapons, holding his sword in his left hand and shield in the right. This was opposite of his opponent, though Link didn't get much more time to make further observations as Wild charged him down fast.
The young man got his shield up to block, but he could tell it was because Wild was holding back. That was only proven more so as they began clashing blades before locking shields. Wild then held his blade aloft before swinging it down to nail Link's legs, sending him falling.
He rolled into it and was back on his feet, though Wild wasn't about to let him have a minute as he was right up on him once again. In that moment, both swung their blades and blocked with their shield. Link reared back his blade, only for Wild to seize the opening by shield bashing.
With the young man disoriented, he followed up with a thrust of the sword which knocked Link back first into the trunk of a tree and saw his Aura shimmering. Link picked himself up and rushed in, swinging his blade. This time, Wild deftly dodged.
He leaned back when the blade was too high and jumped over it if Link went low. This prompted the young man to thrust forward, but Wild deftly dodged before performing a strong spin attack. When the blade contacted with Link, his Aura violently shimmered.
He had also been launched back and once again hit the trunk of a tree back first, dropping his weapons in the process. His Aura hadn't even finish shimmering before it shattered completely on impact, and he fell to his butt.
"Well, you're not bad." Wild voiced as he approached. "Even then, there's a lot you got to improve on." The weapons he held vanished. "Fortunately, that's part of why I'm here."
"Yeah, there's clearly a lot I can learn." Link stood. "Right now, I'm outside the village without Aura, so I should be getting back."
While the spar had helped him clear his head, he also needed time to think on what happened. No matter what, he didn't think he'd be telling anyone about this…at least, not any time soon.
Link now went about collecting his weapons, though something came to mind. "Before I go, it's been thousands of years. Are there still descendants of the reincarnation of the goddess out there?"
It sounded logical to him, with as far as his knowledge of things went. Even though Hyrule fell, life continued. Given he was here now, it should mean someone like that was out there, right?
"Some things just aren't for the dead to share, but I can tell you part of this was that she'd be reincarnated to." Wild informed. "Though, like the dark one, she's not tied to her prior appearance, like she and her descendants were."
"What do you mean by 'part of this'?" Link questioned, having now sheathed his weapons.
"That is something I will tell you later, much later." Wild voiced. "Between now and then, there are more important things you'll be learning. Speaking of which, just call my name whenever, and I will appear to instruct you."
Before Link could speak again, Wild vanished. He'd almost assume this was a dream, if not for the fact he felt beat up and sore.
Link started walking back to the village. "I haven't been that outclassed since I first started training…"