Link splashed head first into a small lake. He silently thanked Hylia that it was deep enough so that he didn't die when he touched the bottom. He swam out and looked around. The first thing he saw was Hyrule Castle, torn from its foundations and up in the sky. Just below that he could see the foundations of Lookout Landing. He thought first of Zelda, her plea for him to find her, but he should probably check on the people of Lookout Landing before seeking out Zelda. Besides, if he was going to The Great Plateau, he would want to get his paraglider back from Purah who had confiscated it to "make improvements" on it. Like his old one had needed improvements.
Link sighed and set off towards Lookout Landing but stopped when he saw a crowd of red bokoblins following what looked like a Hinox Bokoblin hybrid. He hid behind the nearest tree and ran through his inventory in his head. He wondered how long it would take to kill this Boss Bokoblin, especially with the weapons available to him being 'Thick-Stick-Sticks' and the like, and also a few Zonai weapon sticks. His most powerful weapon was a 14 attack power. Probably not smart to go after a new monster with what he had. So he snuck around the group and headed toward Lookout Landing.
He got sidetracked of course, and found like seven shrines of light along the way, two horses, both he registered at the wetland stable. One of the shrines was beside a large pit with Gloom around the rim and seeping out of it. There were a few Hylian scientists investigating the pit but Link decided not to bother them just yet.
Getting into Lookout Landing was easy and he made his way to the Skyview tower Purah had been working on. When he approached the gates to the settlement, he saw two familiar people guarding the entrance. Drozer and Burwar, two guys from Hateno village who Link had trained in combat. They weren't exactly friends, as the two men were too in awe of Link, but he was proud to see them on guard duty. When he rode up to them on a horse he'd named Waze, both men startled.
"Sir Link?" Drozer said, sounding surprised along with his usual awe, "It's you! You're Back! Wh-Where have you been?! Last that anyone saw of either you or Princess Zelda was when you went to investigate the gloom…" As Drozer trailed off Burwar picked up.
"And then the castle rose into the sky, and everyone's been so worried about what happened to you both! Purah has nearly worn herself out trying to figure out where you two went. Purah is working in her usual office near the tower. You should head over quickly!" They stepped aside and Link hopped off Waze. He bought back a Hylian hood and trousers, partly because he wanted new clothes and partly because he might need the armor while meeting with Purah. He unfortunately didn't have enough money to replace his tunic so he figured what he got would have to do.
As he made his way up to Purah's office, he spotted Robbie but he seemed deep in thought and was examining a Zonai device. Link made his way up the stairs and spotted a small Sheikah girl. Link knew she worked with Purah but he didn't remember her name. She seemed to remember him though because she pointed at him with a surprised look on her face.
"That hair! Those eyes! Duh… DUH … DOC! DOCTOR PURAH! The swordsman! The swordsman has returned!" As soon as the girl finished speaking, Link heard crashing sounds from Purah's office. The door slammed open to reveal Purah, out of breath, disheveled and pissed.
"Ok… NOW WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" She adjusted her glasses and walked toward him slowly, holding out a strange Sheikah device that looked like a flute of some sort. That did nothing for Link's nerves. " Linky… you're not a ghost are you?" Link didn't really know how to respond to that, so he raised his hands to sign but Purah interrupted him, her goggles now looking towards his Zonai arm. "Hey, that looks interesting…" Purah sighed and stood back examining Link.
"One step at a time. What exactly happened?" she asked while removing her glasses. She also put the flute thing on her shoulder which confirmed to Link that she wasn't going to attack him. So he raised his hands and began to sign.
"So when you and Zelda went beneath Hyrule Castle, you discovered a mysterious mummy, which suddenly reanimated itself. Zelda fell into a fissure and vanished. That must have been when the castle rose and the ruins fell. Then later, you woke up on a sky island, saved by the arm that was stuck to the mummy. You get the Purah Pad from an unusual animatronic creature, and learn that your new arm belonged to someone named Rauru. Then the Master Sword disappeared, and you heard the Princess's voice before making your way here."
Purah took a second before speaking after summing up Link's story.
"Then… Are you saying you came from up there!?" Purah asked, gesturing to the Great Skyland that was far in the distance now. She shook off her surprise before saying more. "This Rauru you met… I think that's what the first King of Hyrule was named. Are they one and the same? So much of this doesn't make sense- yet I'm certain the mummy you found under the castle must be related to the Upheaval." Link supposed "Upheaval" was what the people of Hyrule were calling the castle rising.
Purah confirmed his suspicion when she said, "The castle rising up… The ruins falling down from the sky… The mummy must be connected to it somehow." Purah was silent for a moment before looking Link in the eyes.
"The most important detail of your story… Are you sure that you heard the Princess speak to you? And she gave you a clear message to find her?" Link nodded. Purah seemed to believe him so she continued.
"If that truly was the Princess, then that means she's alive! Maybe she's trapped beneath the castle and needs help… That settles it. I know you've only just returned Link, but I need you to meet with the search party up by Hyrule Castle. They've been searching tirelessly for you two. The Captain is one of your older trainees named Hoz. Work with him to find the Princess as quickly as you can. The mummy must still be lurking somewhere around there." Link felt increasing spikes of anxiety and she went on. Finally, Purah seemed to notice his expression.
"I know this whole thing is concerning to say the least, but we have more immediate problems to deal with right now. I'm sorry, but I'm counting on you, Linky."
Link nodded, and not really having any other idea of what to do, he made his way back to where he'd left Waze. Before he left, he asked Scorpis to open the door to the emergency shelter so he could trade in the Lights of blessing for a Heart Container before going to Hyrule castle. Due to Link's previous encounters with the place he wanted to be as geared up as he possibly could before going to that place again, especially when it could be again haunted by an evil power.
It was a short ride to the Hyrule Castle Town ruins, but Link trotted his way there to allow himself to cry. He'd felt that he would have a tough time ahead of him on the Great Skyland, but it had only hit him when Purah asked him to set foot on Hyrule Castle's grounds once again. In all seven years, Link had never been back to this place since he and Zelda had created a grave to the fallen here, and both of them had been happy to let the castle stay abandoned for as long as they could. Zelda officially said that Hyrule Castle should be the last thing restored after the rest of Hyrule's towns but Link knew all too well her real reasons.
Link found and completed a Shrine of Light on his way to the castle, and then he trotted back to Lookout Landing to get himself a Stamina Vessel this time. Going back to the Castle town wasn't any easier the second time but he simply chose to focus on finding Hoz.
As he got closer to the castle he felt the Gloom creeping close to his skin. He tried to ignore the sick feeling by paying attention to the guards stationed at the road up to Hyrule Castle.
Reseno was stationed just inside the front gates to the castle.
Sharce was stationed at the entrance to the guards barracks, and didn't recognize Link.
Yutas was stationed at a tower alongside the road.
Wingo was at the Gate house, looking up at Hoz.
Hoz himself seemed to be up on top of the Gate house.
Link felt relieved that all of these men were searching for Zelda. He'd taught them all how to fight. They weren't his friends, but they were still comrades in arms. He'd never actually fought beside them, and true most didn't recognize him for who he was, but they still meant a lot to Link. Though as he traveled, he felt distant from them. They were comrades, coworkers, and friends. Link was their absent general who worked alone. Distant from all of them. None of them had ever heard him speak.
Link tried to put these lonely thoughts aside as he ascended up to Captain Hoz.
When Sawtu saw Link approaching Hoz, he didn't seem to recognize Link either, but he warned that the Captain was on edge. Link kept that in mind as he approached the other man.
"Sorry I'm in the middle of something." Hoz said before looking at Link, "...Huh? Link is that you? You're alive! And all in one piece, it looks like." Hoz smiled at him. "Does that mean Princess Zelda is safe too?" Link raised his hands to sign but Hoz cut him off, "What a relief!"
Link signed a shortened version of what he'd told Purah.
"Hang on - You're alone? But you heard the princess calling out to you, and you're here to help with the search?" Hoz summed up. "I… see. Er, maybe I'm a little confused, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is continuing the search for Princess Zelda. I am relieved to see you come up here and help us out though. We needed some good news. The sheer amount of Gloom has gotten overwhelming. Our work carries on, but we've been a bit dead in the water."
"CAPTAIN! It's Princess Zelda!" Toren, one of Hoz's assistants yelled out. Link spun to where Toren was looking.
On a distant stack, Zelda stood. She wore a strange dress and looked back at them with a strangely cold expression.
"PRINCESS ZELDA! SHE'S SAFE!" Hoz yelled out, but Link kept his eyes on Zelda. Why wasn't she moving towards them?
Zelda then looked up and began floating upwards. Link almost cried out, how was she doing that and where was she going? Link could do nothing as Zelda began to trail golden light and became encased by it. With a blinding flash she became a small ball of light and drifted upwards and away from Link.
Link felt his breathing become more labored and uneven but he forced his panic under control. He couldn't cry in front of Hoz and Toren.
"Wait… What?" Hoz spoke first. "You saw that too, Link? You saw Princess Zelda turn into a light and… fly off.. Right?"
Link nodded and Hoz's expression turned serious.
"How strange… This is an emergency situation! Why would she leave without saying a word to us..? We need to let Purah know about this as soon as possible! Considering what we just witnessed, I think it makes sense for us to withdraw, but it will take a bit. Please, you must tell Purah about what happened here as soon as possible." Then Hoz and Toren turned away, and Link made his way back to Waze.
Link gallopped out of the castle as fast as Waze could go. He told Purah his story and didn't really process her replies. She talked about the Upheaval, she checked out the Purah Pad, and Josha told Link about her completed Skyview towers. The only thing really heard was that Purah told him to rest, which he went and did right after Purah and Josha let him go.
The next morning he sold some of the things he'd found to buy the Hylian Tunic, before speaking to Purah. Even after sleeping, he still felt the cling of the Gloom on him, and he was just as despondent as before. He only really came out of it when Purah shot him into the sky.
Okay he came out of it when she gave him his Paraglider back, and yeah, it did look better. He also was super surprised when Purah let a bunch of repurposed Guardian arms grab him. And then everything left his mind when he was launched into the air.
He was flying so fast and the sky was beautiful. Of course he scanned the area, but the fun part came when he took out the Paraglider and just hung in the air for a moment.
Hyrule was bathed in the early morning sun and it was beautiful. Even Hyrule Castle, riddled in Gloom, was beautiful in this light.
That got Link thinking. He leaned to the side and Paraglided to Hyrule Castle. His gut wrenched to do it, but he couldn't help wondering if the Mummy had taken to the Sanctum like Calamity Gannon had. He landed on the tallest tower of the castle and found the Dusk bow in a pile of rubble. He floated down and found a decayed Royal Guard's spear in a chest and a gold rupee in a chest below that. He found two decayed Royal broadswords in the room below that, despite the floor being mostly covered with Gloom. He found even more things on his way down. Well even if this trip was terrifying, he couldn't say it wasn't lucrative.
When he made his way down to King Rhoam's throne, he kneeled in front of it before continuing down to the sanctum. There wasn't much there so he began to explore the rest of the castle. He couldn't repeat how much loot he got, but he did manage to find the Royal Guard's cap and boots, and completed a shrine. No vestige of Ganon seemed to be here so he found himself able to enjoy the looting. It felt satisfying to pillage the place Calamity Ganon had called home for 100 years. It felt good to take the strong weaponry from right under the Glooms nose and then use it to kill monsters.
By the time he teleported back to Lookout Landing, he'd basically re-done his inventory, and he was feeling brave.
Talking to Purah was easier now especially when she turned the conversation to the Upheaval.
"So as you might have guessed, the Upheaval has affected more than just the castle." Purah said.
"Yeah I've noticed Death Mountain looks a little Gloom ridden." Purah smiled and nodded but didn't mention his speaking.
"Yup, I've got reports of other strange phenomena that have come from all over Hyrule. Let's look at your map. The first report came from Hebra, and then Eldin like you said, then Gerudo, and finally… Lanayru."
Link was startled and looked up at Purah. Lanayru… could she mean Zora's Domain was in trouble!? Purah's eyes looked sympathetic.
"The phenomena are in these four regions. I can't say for certain, but… I've got a nagging suspicion that we might find out more about Princess Zelda by looking into these phenomena." Purah said. Link felt himself blush. Purah could always read him like a book, but it still didn't help that she had to bring his attention back to all of Hyrule instead of… him.
"Hey, doc?" Josha spoke up, "I don't know if this is helpful, but I heard something weird the other day… It was about someone who might have been Princess Zelda over at Rito Village recently."
"That is pretty weird, yeah." Purah said, turning to her protege. "Generally speaking, I don't put much stock in hearsay, but this does sound like it's worth looking into." Both Sheikah turned to Link.
"Oh, and before I forget, Link. We've asked the Lucky Clover Gazette to help us in the search for Princess Zelda. There's nobody who knows more about the goings-on of Hyrule than them. You can find them near the entrance to Rito Village. If you do go there, you should speak with the editor. I'm sure she could help out in some way too. I'll be here, directing a variety of investigations into the Upheval's many chasms and new ruins. I'll also be looking into the different villages. Someone, somewhere, might know what happened to the princess." Purah looked him in the eyes, "I'm counting on you to check out the major phenomena that are troubling regions around Hyrule, Link. We'll find Princess Zelda one way or another!"
With that Josha ran off saying something about goggles. Link made to turn away but Purah called him back.
"Remember, you're not alone this time. Anytime you need me I'll be here, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." Link said, and ran down to get his horse.