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smilesrobotlover · 5 days ago

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Chapter 4- Shrines

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AO3

Summary: it’s been three years since Calamity Ganon attacked Hyrule, and everyone was recovering well from it. Until the strange substance gloom appeared, making people sick when they touched it. Wanting to find answers, Zelda and the champions went beneath the castle against her father’s wishes to try to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the King of Hyrule is desperately trying to figure out more about the gloom, though no one knows the true danger lurking beneath Hyrule…

Hey guys! This au is gonna be on hiatus while I wait to see what Age of Imprisonment has to offer. I just want to do what I can to make this how I want it to :) Hope you enjoy this.

Despite the struggle with the ability, ultrahand was a very convenient tool to use as Link traveled across the islands. Ziplines and planks helped him reach areas he couldn’t reach on his own, and so he was moving through obstacles that normally would make him stuck.

Link kept his eyes peeled for the green shrine, but with the trees and small huts scattered across the island, the next shrine was possibly blocked out of his vision. After wandering around for a while, Link heard a sound, and he turned to see a steward construct cutting down a tree with a familiar ghostly figure watching it. Curious, Link walked over to Rauru, who was sitting on a tree stump with his head resting in his hand. It was an odd position to see him in—Rauru acted very proper and dignified from what he saw, so seeing him so casual was surprising to Link. Though he rarely knew the guy, so who was he to know how Rauru really acted?

Rauru’s gaze turned to Link, a melancholic look in his eyes. He gestured to the steward construct cutting wood, inviting Link to look as well.

“Steward constructs were made to assist us,” he simply explained, “they gave us time to do things we wanted to do instead of worrying about chores. We were always fond of them.” Rauru smiled slightly, but it quickly dropped. “I’m surprised they’re still working to this day. There’s no one to serve and assist, yet they still work as if there is. It’s disquieting to me.”

Link watched the steward construct, simply cutting wood and tying the bundles together. He could understand why Rauru found it all disquieting, serving with no purpose. His mind went to the steward construct that was cooking food for people to enjoy, only for it to go to waste in the end. It must’ve been a lonely life for the constructs.

“Are you finding the shrines alright?” Rauru suddenly asked, and Link shrugged. “There’s a shrine just up ahead. It shouldn’t take you long to find it.”

Link nodded, grateful to have some direction, and he began his trek to the next shrine while Rauru simply watched. When he reached a small lake, he was able to spot the glowing green swirl above the gray shrine, along with a goron pacing in front of it. Thank Hylia.

Building a boat with his ultrahand, Link sailed across the lake, feeling excitement when Daruk spotted him getting closer. The goron rushed to the shore where Link landed, and Link was quickly scooped into a tight hug.

“Link! You’re alive!” Daruk cheered, setting Link down and looking him over. “Sorry, little guy. Don’t mean to hurt you.”

Link smiled and gave him a reassuring nod. Daruk grinned and reeled back his arm, making Link brace himself as the large hand smacked his back harshly. He nearly fell from the impact, but Daruk caught him before he could hit the ground.

“I’m glad you’re ok, little guy.” Daruk said, holding him close. “We were so worried about you! Revali came by and told me that you were ok, but he didn’t say you were coming here.” Daruk rubbed his nose. “That rito, never telling me anything.”

Link nodded, not wanting to say that Revali actually told him to stay put.

“So why are you here, little guy? You looking for everyone?” Daruk asked, and Link shook his head. It was certainly something he wanted to do, but he needed to focus on getting into the white building. Link pointed to the shrine behind Daruk, and he gave him a knowing nod. “I see. I was wondering what that thing was. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Link nodded, stepping towards the shrine and staring at the green magic circle that appeared. Touching the circle, the shrine opened up for Link, and Daruk gasped at the newly-made entrance, his eyes wide.

“Woah! How’d you do that?”

Link lifted up his arm to show Daruk, and the Goron champion gasped at the sight.

“Is your… arm ok?” He asked, a hint of timidness in his tone, as if he were afraid to ask. Link simply shrugged again, not knowing how to explain the arm that belonged to Rauru. Daruk stared for a moment, but his concern quickly melted away. “Well, it looks like it’s ok. Sorta.”

Link mustered up a smile and rested his arm to his side. Daruk looked between him and the newly opened shrine and he stepped back, inviting Link inside.

“I couldn’t fit in there if I tried, but I’ll be waiting out here for you!”

Link gave him a grateful nod and walked into the shrine, feeling relieved that Daruk was safe and waiting for him. He was like a rock for him—no pun intended—and Link always enjoyed his presence. Knowing that he was waiting for him outside brought him much comfort, which was exactly what he needed upon stepping into the shrine.

Though he was bracing himself for it, the burning feeling returned to him as soon as he entered, causing him to stumble and gasp in pain once again. This was going to get old real quick.

“Link.”

Rauru’s familiar voice spoke up, and Link stood up shakily, giving Rauru a nod.

“I’m happy you were able to find this shrine. Now, let’s waste no more time. Hold out your hand.”

Link obeyed, extending his right hand and allowing the Zonai magic to absorb into his arm. Curious about the new ability, Link glanced up at Rauru.

“This ability is called fuse. It allows you to… well… fuse something nearby to your weapon or shield, thereby enhancing it.” Rauru turned behind him, pointing at a sword laying on the ground. “Why not pick up that sword just ahead and then fuse a nearby object to it?”

Link swallowed, dragging himself to the sword. He was excited to have a real weapon finally, and he spotted a rock laying nearby which he assumed was the object Rauru wanted him to fuse. Closing his eyes, Link reached out, the familiar feeling of his arm extending to grab the rock, but Rauru let out a hum of disapproval.

“This isn’t ultrahand. This is fuse,” he said. “They’re similar, but where you stick things together temporarily with ultrahand, you permanently seal things together with fuse.”

Link frowned, dropping the rock and staring at the sword. It must’ve been similar to strengthening his swords and weapons, merging the weaker ones into the main one to make it stronger. He looked between the sword and the rock, his eyes narrowed as he tried to think how to awaken the fuse power.

“Fuse is a bit complicated, but it’s like a very quick way to stick things together with ultrahand,” Rauru explained in an attempt to help Link understand it better.

He nodded, feeling more confident with that comparison—he just needed to be quick. Link stared at the rock again, this time extending the sword, and using the feeling of the blade, the magic, and the rock, he was able to quickly grab the rock and fuse it to the tip of his weapon.

“My, you picked that up quick!” Rauru exclaimed, walking closer to him. “It’s a powerful ability, perfect for more long term things unlike ultrahand. But because you’re new at this, you may only be able to fuse small things together, like weapons with objects.”

Link tilted his head. If he got stronger, would he be able to fuse bigger things together like buildings? He thought about the buildings scattered across the island and wondered if they were all built by fuse. The Zonai were mysterious indeed, and it was no wonder why Zelda was so obsessed with them.

“Make sure you think before you fuse, however,” Rauru warned, his turquoise eyes staring at Link, “if you fuse something you don’t want to be fused together, tearing them apart would be hard, and may end up destroying one or both objects. So just make sure you know what you’re doing.”

Link nodded, staring at the rock sword in his hand. It not only looked different, but it felt different; it felt stronger. Glancing at the rock wall in front of him, Link confidently moved to it with his weapon raised. In one swing, the wall fell to pieces, crumbling at his feet from the force of his new rock sword. Satisfaction and excitement filled Link as he thought about the possibilities for fuse—the weapons he could create, how each object would strengthen the weapons, the possibilities were endless!

He heard Rauru chuckle behind him, clearly picking up on his excitement.

“Fuse is a good ability, easily the most useful when you become strong enough. Let me show you something.”

Rauru led Link through the shrine, showing him a bush tucked away in a small room. The bush held glowing red fruit that Link had never seen before, and he stared in amazement while Rauru pointed to it.

“Fuse can work with arrows as well, try it out with the fire fruit.”

Link stared, picking off the fire fruit and observing it. It had dead leaves surrounding a warm, pulsing center. He was careful as he held it, not wanting it to combust, and he pocketed the fruits and looked up at dead leaves surrounding a chest on a wooden shelf. If this was a fire fruit, then maybe he could set the leaves on fire with it.

Using the bow and arrows he got from earlier, he pulled the string back, using the same feeling of fuse to merge the fire fruit and arrow together. The light brightened in front of him, intense heat making him sweat, and he released the arrow to the leaves where it immediately set ablaze. Incredible. Maybe the arm wasn’t such a bad thing after all if it gave him remarkable abilities like this.

When the chest fell, Link was able to open it to receive a key. He didn’t know the door ahead was locked, but he was glad he got the key first. Despite the excitement dulling the pain, he still felt weak and tired, so anything to make this shrine easier for him was appreciated.

Unlocking the door and climbing a ladder on the other side, Link’s excitement went away when he saw a soldier construct, this one looking far more tough than any he’s fought before.

“Oh no,” Rauru muttered, giving Link an apologetic look. “I forgot about the soldier constructs in the shrine…”

Link turned to Rauru. He forgot? This was a shrine, not a battle ground! What reason was there to having soldier constructs? The Sheikah shrines at least had small guardians to test him, but why here?

“I’m so sorry, Link,” Rauru apologized, “I put the soldier constructs in the shrines to keep trespassers away. I didn’t think they’d still be here.”

Link groaned, holding up his rock sword and eyeing the construct as it began moving towards him. He just needed to focus on this battle.

Dodging an attack from the construct, Link swung his sword, his stiff and heavy limbs making him move slower than what he’d like. He landed a few hits on the construct before it swung at him again, and he was barely able to jump away in time. If he was feeling normal this battle would be easy, but he was clumsily moving around, barely dodging each swing his way. Fortunately though, his sword was enhanced and made it strong enough for him to defeat the construct in just a few hits, and it fell to pieces before him, with its own fused weapon falling to the ground.

Then Link found himself lying face-up, with Rauru watching over him worriedly. Did he… pass out?

“Are you alright?” Rauru asked, and Link attempted to sit up, his entire body feeling impossibly heavy. Rauru watched him for a moment, his arms out protectively as if he would be able to help him up. “You suddenly collapsed after you defeated the construct, and I got worried.”

Link rubbed his head, feeling nauseous. He needed to leave this place.

“The blessing is just up ahead, you’re almost there,” Rauru said, holding up one finger. “And no more constructs, I promise.”

Link nodded, feeling slightly relieved that there were no more constructs to fight, and he struggled to stand on his feet while Rauru lingered nearby. He was wishing the Zonai wasn’t a ghost so he could help him move to the end, but he couldn’t complain too much. Rauru was very helpful despite his ghostly state, and as long as he was by his side, he’d be able to drag himself to the light blessing.

“Your fighting is impeccable, Link,” Rauru commented as Link stood up, and he simply shrugged. It certainly wasn’t impeccable before with the way he was moving, but Rauru continued. “Despite your state, you fought well. I’m impressed.”

Link nodded, picking up his sword and the soldier construct’s weapon and moving forward, seeing Rauru follow out of the corner of his eye.

Once Link reached the statue of Rauru and the Hylian woman, the feminine voice once again spoke to him, and the light blessing appeared before him. The fiery sensation of the gloom fighting back against the light flared up again, and he could feel himself threatening to pass out again, black spots pricking at his vision as he desperately reached out to the blessing. Then the pain subsided slightly, and he felt a warmth spread throughout his chest.

“May the light blessing grant you the strength you seek.” The voice said, and once again, Link felt himself leave the shrine, and he was back outside where Daruk patiently waited. As soon as the sun hit his eyes, Link felt himself waver, and he fell right into Daruk’s big hands.

“Woah! Are you ok, little guy?” Daruk asked, holding Link up as he leaned into him. Goddesses he was so tired…

“Ah, you always push yourself too hard,” Daruk muttered, carrying Link over to a tree and setting him down. “So how was the shrine thing? What’s going on with it?”

Link sighed, leaning back against Daruk with relief. He normally could handle overexerting himself, but with the gloom in him and fighting when he was already feeling unwell, he supposed it was too much. Rest was very much needed. Daruk stared at him for a moment while Link pointed to where the white building was, and he hummed.

“I see! With the shrines, we’ll be able to enter that building!”

Link nodded, and Daruk beamed, smiling at the white building.

“I assume the princess is in there; we’ll be able to get to her.”

Link nodded again, closing his eyes and leaning against Daruk. Once he got all the shrines, he and the champions would be reunited with Zelda, and they’d be able to find out what was happening with Hyrule. It’d certainly be nice to move past this island. Daruk pulled him closer, smiling down at him.

“You get some rest then, little guy. I’ll watch over you,” Daruk said softly, and Link took that as permission to fall into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wind blew through his hair, the sky a blood red as rain dripped down his face and into his eyes. He couldn’t see well, his vision blurry with tears as he looked around at the battlefield. The champions laid at his feet, eyes empty and dead, blood covering their lifeless bodies. He felt tears falling as he looked up to see the corpse from below the castle, watching him with hatred in its eyes, gloom pooling around it and facing him. Pain suddenly appeared in his abdomen, and he looked down to see blood pouring out of him, blood mixed with gloom that began to suck the very life out of him. He fell to his knees, watching helplessly as the corpse got closer. A boom was heard with each step, the piercing eyes never looking away from him. Another boom that made him flinch rang out, dread creeping throughout his body and grabbing hold of his very spirit. It was over, Hyrule was lost. The corpse raised the sword in its hand, the eyes never leaving him, and it swung down, making everything go black.

Boom.

Link flinched awake, sitting up and panting heavily from the nightmare. The loud booming sound was heard again, and he spun around to see Daruk fast asleep next to him, his snores sounding louder than thunder. He almost laughed, the snores entering his subconscious, but the way they were used in his nightmare made him unsettled.

It was horrifying, the sight of the champions dead before him, and it was all due to the corpse they found earlier. Something they weren’t ever supposed to find. Link leaned forward, rubbing his face tiredly. It was dark outside, clearly deep into the night, and it was silent save for Daruk’s snores. Link must’ve been really exhausted to have slept so long. It was almost too long, with another shrine he still needed to find to get in the white building, along with finding Mipha. Every second away from her was agonizing.

Despite the long rest, he didn’t feel any better; the anxiety from the dream before kept gnawing at him, and his stomach felt tight as he brought his knees to his chest, staring ahead of him blankly. It’d be wise to start moving during the day, especially while Daruk was awake, and he didn’t know where he was going, so he figured he’d have to wait for the morning.

He sat there for a moment, listening to Daruk’s snores that weren’t as distressingly loud now, and he heard a familiar noise to his side. A steward construct was moving towards him, something resting in its large hands.

“Link,” it greeted, bowing slightly and holding out a strange accessory with a capsule in a slot. There were several empty slots beneath it, and Link stood up to grab it. “I failed to give this to you, please take it,” it said, and Link wondered if this was the same construct that gave him the sheikah slate. Link bowed his head slightly in gratitude and the construct copied him, moving away while leaving him confused. What the heck was this thing?

“That’s an energy cell.”

Link spun around to see Rauru watching him. He supposed he should get used to the guy showing up out of nowhere.

“Us Zonai invented technology that are scattered across this island,” Rauru began to explain, “but it runs off of our magic that we stored inside those energy cells. As long as you have that, you can use the technology whenever. But be cautious, because the energy may run out and will need time to recharge.”

Link hummed, clipping the energy cell on his belt next to the slate. It seemed useful enough, though he doubted he’d need to use it. Ultrahand and fuse were helpful enough already.

“It looks like you’re feeling better,” Rauru commented, a gentle smile on his face, “I was worried, but with two light blessings, the next shrines should be easier to move through.”

Link smiled, giving Rauru a grateful nod. He hoped it was the case; he didn’t feel any difference with pain in the two shrines, but if he could feel even a little better with the third one, he’d be perfectly fine.

“Speaking of, where are you headed to next?” Rauru asked, and Link shrugged. The zonai chuckled slightly and pointed to a cave nearby. “There’s a shrine in the colder region around here. If you enter that cave, it’ll put you on a path to it. With three light blessings, you should have enough strength to open the temple.”

Excitement spiked in Link’s chest, and he nodded. He was more than ready to find Zelda and leave. Rauru nodded back, glancing at Daruk and suddenly vanishing. Link stared, slightly confused, until he heard Daruk stir behind him, the goron sitting up with a confused look on his face.

“Who was that?” He asked, and Link held up his new arm. “Oh! Was that the spirit of the arm? Wait a second—” Daruk stood up, staring at the arm and the spot where Rauru was. “Was he the voice that spoke to us earlier?” Link frowned, and Daruk gave him a look. “The arm grabbed you and transported us up here from the castle, and a voice told us that you’d be ok.”

Oh right, Link forgot that Rauru technically spoke to the champions before. Link nodded, confirming Daruk’s suspicions.

“Huh, well I guess he’s on our side then, yeah?”

Link nodded again.

“Well good! We’ll need all the help we can get!” Daruk exclaimed, patting Link gently on the back, which he was grateful for. A normal pat from Daruk would’ve knocked Link out in his current state. “Well, I heard him talk about the shrines. The snowy area is where Revali spends a lot of his time. Hopefully he’s over there!”

Link nodded in agreement, though if he saw Revali, he’d definitely get an earful from the rito for not listening to him. Deep down he was hoping Mipha was there instead, but zora didn’t go to colder areas, so he knew it was false hope. Link looked at Daruk and pointed to the white building, deciding to move on and hoping Daruk understood what he was trying to say.

“You want me to go to the white building?” Daruk asked, and Link nodded. It’d be best if all the champions were together when he got strong enough, though Daruk looked uneasy.

“Are you sure you’ll be ok, little guy? You’re clearly not as strong as you were before.”

Link gave him a reassuring nod, giving Daruk a playful punch, which he probably didn’t feel. Now that he had some rest, he figured he’d be well enough to get to the next shrine, as long as it had no constructs. Daruk didn’t look convinced, but he finally accepted.

“I trust you, just be careful, ok?” He said firmly, and Link smiled, patting the goron’s giant arm. Daruk smiled back and watched as Link faced the direction to the cave, walking towards the mouth and standing for a moment. If there was one thing Link wasn’t at all comfortable with, it was caves. Really, any small space, seeing how it was hard to move around and fight enemies in a smaller area. But he needed to move forward. He gave Daruk a wave and headed inside, immediately feeling the cold and damp air hitting his face. The cave wasn’t as dark as he expected it to be, and he noticed some interesting flora in the cave that he’s never seen before. Granted, he was never one to observe plants like Zelda, but he was well familiar with them. These ones, however, were brand new to him. They looked like closed up seeds, around the size of his hand, and light was emanating from them, covered slightly by the leaves. He couldn’t help but pluck the plants from their spots, pocketing them just in case. Maybe they could be useful in a darker area; caves were normally darker than this one.

Despite his unease, he looked around the cave, curious about other plants that were in there with him, and he spotted a chest against the wall. Opening it with excitement, he found more clothes, this time it being a green and tan sash. Struggling to put it on himself, it seemed to cover half his torso, while his right arm and chest were left bare. It didn’t cover him fully, but it was better than nothing, and the sash was quite comfortable.

Before he could leave the cave, he heard croaking and saw a glowing frog hopping on the ceiling, with it blowing bubbles at Link that pushed him away slightly. He couldn’t help but watch in confusion, curious about what the thing was. He’d never seen anything like it before as it hopped from side to side, blowing bubbles every so often. Deciding not to start a battle, Link held up his hands and backed away, finally leaving the musty cave. Relief swept over him when he felt the fresh air hit him, and he spotted another lake right in front of him. He was going to build another boat like before, but he spotted steward constructs around strange contraptions, and he felt inclined to see what they were up to.

The constructs greeted him and explained zonai technology, which Link remembered for his conversation with Rauru earlier. Deciding to test out the technology, Link built a boat with a supposed fan on the back, and with its activation, strong air blew and sent Link and the boat to the other side with ease. He now understood why Rauru gave him the energy cell, since ultrahand and fuse wouldn’t do much with technology that needed activation.

This journey to the next shrine was going slightly better, with the path being more linear for him as he walked to yet another cave. A minecart rested at the entrance with fans laying beside it, and he immediately used ultrahand to stick the two together. Hopping in the cart, he activated the fan and held tight to the cart as he went flying down the rail. But this cave was much different than the other before, and he was quickly plunged into darkness that sent his heart to his throat.

A string of curses left his mouth as he clung tightly to the cart, ducking down to protect his head as he went flying through the dark cave. If he had known that it’d get this dark, he wouldn’t have jumped into a cart!

Bracing himself, the cart finally hit something that stopped it, and he opened his eyes to see light shining amongst the darkness, with more stewards working. One noticed him and began to float over to him, bowing its head.

“Hello,” it greeted, and Link bowed his head back, crawling out of the minecart. The steward construct gestured for him to follow it to the fiery furnace, allowing Link to see the glowing green ore in the cave.

“I hope you have brightbloom seeds with you,” the construct started, “you’d be lost in here without them.”

Link frowned, not knowing what brightbloom seeds were. The construct pointed to a bundle of the seeds he found before, and he pulled out the ones he pocketed.

“Good, you have some,” the construct said. “If you throw it or attach it to an arrow, it will open and light up the surrounding area. Useful for dark areas like this.”

Link’s mouth fell open, looking at the seed in surprise. That was useful. Clutching the seed in his hand, he reeled his arm back and threw it into the darkness, and just like the steward construct said, it exploded into light, revealing the plants on the cave walls and illuminating the ore. That was very nice; he thought he would have to use the limited light from the seed to see, but he supposed there was a lot more to the plant than he realized. Truthfully, there was a lot more to the island in general.

Giving the construct a grateful bow, Link headed off into the dark cave, using the seeds whenever he needed light. The island was big, but soon everything began to repeat itself to Link. Trees, zonai technology, steward constructs, huts, and soldier constructs seemed to repeat themselves wherever Link went. Until he made it to the snowy area on the island, and he realized that he was woefully unprepared for it. The clothes he was wearing were nice but they were not built for colder climates. They barely covered his skin as it was! Looking at the snow, then back at where he came from, he let out a sigh. He was losing his patience, and he didn’t want to go on another fetch quest to find warmer clothes. He was just going to have to bear it.

Letting out a breath, Link ran into the snow, immediately feeling the frigid cold on his bare skin. His toes went numb immediately as the snow piled onto them, and Link wanted to simply curl up, but he kept going. He couldn’t stop moving, or else he’d freeze to death. Running through the snow, Link avoided constructs and ice chuchus, running into caves that were pleasantly warmer than the outside, and eventually he found himself staring at an ice wall, the shrine sitting right on top of it.

Link was a remarkable climber, but not even he would be able to climb up the icy walls that led to the shrine he needed to get to. He circled the shrine, staring up at it in frustration and trying to think of ways for him to climb up there. Just as he was about to find something to use his ultrahand on, he heard familiar flapping behind him, and a cursing rito landed right next to him. Link turned to him and smiled at Revali, who was glaring back at him with his wings crossed.

“Is that thick skull of yours incapable of listening or something?” He started to shout, getting close to Link and pointing his wings at him. “I told you to stay put! And what do I find when I return to get you? Absolutely nothing!”

Revali’s wing swung in frustration, his other one resting on his waist. Link simply looked down, expecting this anger from Revali, but he couldn’t sit around no matter how injured he was. The rito had to understand that.

“And look at you! You’re wearing absolutely nothing!” Revali looked at Link’s clothes, a disgusted look on his face. “You must be stupid or something traveling through here in that!”

Link sighed, already annoyed with the conversation, and he turned to look at the shrine. Revali finally stopped ranting and looked up to where Link stared, and he let out a sigh.

“Do you need to go up there?” He asked, rather begrudgingly, and Link nodded, hoping he’d at least give him a ride. Revali rolled his eyes and let out a groan, crossing his wings and facing away. “Because you almost died before I’ll help you up there. Just this once though, you hear?”

Link gave him a grateful nod, waiting for Revali to kneel down for him to climb onto his back or something, but instead the rito took to the skies, grabbing what little fabric Link had on him in his talons and plopping him right next to the shrine. Link let out a grunt as he fell to his side, his skin going numb from touching the snow, and he scrambled to his feet to give Revali a glare.

“What? I got you up here, didn’t I?”

Link sighed, moving towards the magic circle, activating it, and entering the shrine, not caring about Revali’s reaction to the sudden opening. Once again, he braced himself for the pain, but to his relief, the pain had subsided a bit, at least a bit more compared to the last two shrines. However, he was still in excruciating pain, and he inhaled sharply.

“This is it, Link.” Rauru appeared before him, holding out his hand. “Just this one and you’ll be able to enter the Temple of Time.”

Motivated to reunite with the princess, Link held out his hand, the dizziness already beginning to overwhelm him, and the magic sunk itself into the palm. Link glanced up at Rauru, waiting for an explanation. He was almost excited to see what this new ability was.

“What you just received is the ascend ability,” Rauru began to explain, “it lets you travel through what’s directly above you—to ascend through it and emerge on top of it. You’ll find it quite useful in all sorts of places and situations.”

Link looked down at his hand. That did sound useful, but he wondered how he’d be able to do it.

“Come, Link, test it out here,” Rauru invited, guiding him to a low-hanging ceiling. “Jump straight through and you’ll be on top of it. It comes naturally, trust me.”

Link let out a breath, pointed his right arm to the ceiling, and jumped. Landing on his feet, Link looked down at his arm and up at Rauru, confused.

“Make sure you focus magic on yourself and where you’ll want to go,” Rauru added, and he nodded, pointing his arm again and jumping weakly. Once again, he landed on his feet, not ascending through anything. Link gave Rauru a pleading look, having no strength to struggle through this. Rauru nodded and pointed at the ceiling, his tall figure reaching it with ease. “You need the magic to essentially soften the ceiling. It will temporarily turn it into zonai magic, allowing you to travel through. Start by focusing the magic on the ceiling.”

Link pointed to the ceiling, focusing the familiar magic of the ultrahand and fuse on the spot he was looking up. His arm quickly began to tingle, burning from it being raised, but he tried to focus. The arm glowed, the green magic leaving it and resting on the ceiling. Soon a green circle rippled right above Link, and Rauru let out a hum of approval.

“That’s it. Do you see that circle? That’s the path you will be allowed to travel through. Now ascend.”

Link nodded, letting out a small exhale before imagining the magic reaching down to him, and he suddenly felt himself being pulled up into the green circle. He held his breath instinctively, closing his eyes as if he were jumping into water, but instead he found himself in a strange green world, swirls of zonai magic surrounding him. He was able to breathe normally, but he certainly didn’t feel normal. There was something pressing down on him, making it feel like he was underwater, and he realized he was hanging halfway down the ceiling. With a strong kick, Link was able to fully enter the ceiling, his hand guiding him through the zonai magic. Kicking his legs made the small trip go faster, and soon a bright light appeared from the end of the ceiling, and Link found himself halfway emerged, the magic still rippling through the ceiling.

“Look at that, you ascended,” Rauru cheered, a small smile on his face. Link smiled back, dragging himself out of the strange dimension below. “Told you it came naturally.”

Link certainly wouldn’t consider it coming natural to him—it felt very odd—but he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t find it fascinating. The rest of the shrine was simply jumping through ceilings and getting from place to place, with it being relatively simple for him. Though, unlike ultrahand and fuse, it required a lot of physical effort to successfully travel through, and by the end he was downright exhausted, once again feeling like he was about to pass out. But at least he wasn’t cold anymore.

“Nice work. You have some natural talent to you,” Rauru said, giving Link a proud look. “You’re strong, and it’s no wonder why you’re called the hero.”

Link stared for a moment, his brows furrowed as Rauru looked away. How did he know he was the hero? Of course, before Link could even attempt in asking him about it, Rauru disappeared before his eyes, as if not wanting to explain his comment, and Link was left alone in front of the statues. He hesitated for a moment in front of the green circle, knowing what was to come once the light blessing appeared, but he pushed forward, knowing that it would do nothing but help him. Touching the magic circle, the statues were once again revealed, the light blessing appearing before him. Not wasting one second, Link reached for the light blessing, gritting his teeth as the gloom within him squirmed and wriggled against it. He grabbed the light blessing finally, the gloom being forced out of him as the light warmed his whole being, and he was sent away out of the shrine.

The cold shocked him to his core, and he practically crumpled to the ground as his whole body went numb. He made a grave mistake coming here without any winter clothes, that was for sure.

“Well well, look who decided to finally return.”

Link looked up to see Revali simply standing above him, an annoyed look on his face.

“You could’ve warned me before you decided to march right into that shrine! Honestly, do you know how confused I was standing out here? Not knowing whether to leave or stay? What were you doing in there anyways?”

Link swallowed, standing up slowly and giving him a glare. The last thing he needed was to appear vulnerable in front of Revali, so he attempted to hide his shivering. Which didn’t work. The rito stared at him bemused, looking up and down his frozen figure, and he let out an annoyed sigh.

“You’re so pathetic, climb on.” Revali turned around and knelt to the ground, inviting Link to climb onto his back. “This is the only time I’m allowing this, you hear?”

Link stared for a moment, debating on actually taking Revali’s offer, but the cold convinced him and he was quickly on the rito’s back. Admittedly, he was a little worried about his weight against him—Revali wasn’t exactly the biggest or strongest rito around, and Link was almost the same size as him. But he took to the skies safely, gliding down to the warmer region in front of the Temple of Time. The two landed, and Link slid off of Revali’s back, giving him a grateful pat while the rito let out a groan.

“Ugh, my back,” he complained, and Link rolled his eyes.

“Hey!”

The voices of Urbosa and Daruk calling to them drew their attention, and they all met up with each other.

“Did you do it? Did you visit the shrines?” Urbosa asked breathlessly, and Link nodded, holding up his arm.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Revali asked.

“Link needed to visit the shrines of the island to get into the white building,” Urbosa quickly explained, already turning to it.

“Wait, what?” Revali turned to Link. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve helped out more, you know!”

“Oh quit your squawking, Revali. Let’s just get into the temple and find Zelda!”

“Hold on.” Daruk stopped, holding out his hands to stop everyone. “What about little Mipha? She needs to be here too, right?”

It grew silent, and Urbosa turned to Link. “Did you ever see Mipha?”

Link shook his head, and she nodded.

“Alright. Revali, go find Mipha. We’re going to get into the building.”

Revali seemed hesitant, but he knew better than to argue with Urbosa, and he took to the skies once again with the others watching.

“Come on Link, let’s get Zelda,” Urbosa pressed, practically dragging him to the Temple of Time. Once again in front of the large, white doors, Link touched the magic circle gently. He admittedly was feeling anxious—whether it was nervousness or excitement, he didn’t know—and the magic circle giving way made his heartbeat spike. It opened.

The doors shuttered, dust and particles falling into their faces as they moved apart, and finally, they were inside. The lighting was warm, with the sound of wheels turning straight ahead of them, and a glowing stone floating right before them.

“Zelda? ZELDA!” Daruk called out, moving away in an attempt to find the princess, and Urbosa did the same.

“Zelda! We’re here!” She yelled, but there was no response. While the two scrambled around the temple, Link’s eyes were fixated on the stone, as if it were beckoning for him to come closer, and he reached out to touch it.

Before his very eyes, the room he was in disappeared, replaced by an ethereal plane with fog covering everything, except for him and her—Zelda.

Link’s eyes widened when he saw her, but he didn’t move, for her behavior confused him. She was floating above the ground, her chin pointed high, and her eyes closed. Her hands were clutched at her chest as if holding something, and when he stepped closer, her arm held out to him. Link stared, his brows furrowed as if he’d never seen such a thing before. Cautiously resting the new hand in hers, a golden light appeared from her, traveling from her arm to his. Then she let go, her hand returning to her other one, still not looking at Link to his confusion. Glancing down, Link noticed a symbol appearing on his hand, right in the center within the circular jewelry. He looked back up at Zelda, opening his mouth to ask her what was going on, but instead the world around him vanished, and he found himself back in the Temple of Time, with a baffled looking Urbosa and Daruk watching him.

“What was that? What happened?” Urbosa asked, and Link looked up to find the stone gone.

“Where is she? I thought she’d be here!” Daruk said, a hint of frustration in his voice.

“I thought the same thing, but she’s clearly not.”

“No… no wait, there’s a door up ahead!” Daruk pointed to a large door on the higher level, and he and Urbosa wasted no time in running to it, effortlessly climbing over the wheels and running to it while Link simply stayed behind, his eyes on his hand. It all felt strange to him, the way Zelda acted before, the strange temple, everything. In a way, he almost felt… sad. They weren’t going to find Zelda here.

“Link.”

He turned to see Rauru watching him, a confused expression on his face as he watched Daruk and Urbosa try to open the door.

“It seems you got a new ability,” he muttered, gesturing to his hand. Link looked down again, staring at the strange symbol. “It’s recall: the ability to reverse the movement of an object through time.”

Link watched him, almost desperate for him to answer his questions, but Rauru simply sighed.

“What you just saw before, is a mystery even to me. I was expecting Zelda to be here as well, but it seems that isn’t the case.” He faced where the stone used to be, his eyes narrowed. “Perhaps it was a sort of echo—one that reflects her sheer will.”

Rauru’s voice was low and quiet, almost as if he were speaking out of respect, and he stood motionless for a while. The sounds of Urbosa and Daruk struggling filled the air, and after a long moment, Rauru turned to Link.

“I wish I could teach you how to use recall, but that was an ability I never learned to use. But it no doubt will prove useful to you.”

Link nodded, moving to join Urbosa and Daruk, but Rauru quickly stopped him.

“The door they are trying to open tests your vitality. They cannot open it, but you can. Yet you remain in a weakened state and will fall before you are able to do so.”

Link practically felt himself slump, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. What was the point of everything he just went through? What was the reason he was sent to run across the floating island, if he got nothing out of it? He thought they’d find Zelda, he thought they’d be able to leave and find out what was happening to Hyrule, but were they to remain stuck here? All because Link wasn’t… strong enough?

Rauru picked up on his despair, and he let out a small laugh. “Do not fret, Link. There is one more shrine on this island. I didn’t think it’d be needed, but I see now I was wrong.” Rauru turned to look up into the sky, with Link following his gaze. “The shrine is where you first awoke. I’m sure if you get the light blessing, you may find your way forward. And you may find Zelda.”

Link stared, hope sparking within him once again. It was small, but it was better than nothing. The flapping of wings interrupted them, and Rauru once again vanished before him as Revali landed.

“You got it open!” He exclaimed, his eyes looking around before landing on Link. “Did you find Zelda?”

Link shook his head solemnly, and he looked around Revali to see if he could spot Mipha. He didn’t.

“I searched high and low. I couldn’t find Mipha,” Revali explained as Link searched. “I’m sorry.”

She must be where the last shrine is, Link thought, looking up at the sky. He turned to Revali and pointed at the highest sky island, hoping he’d understand what he was trying to say.

“You… want up?”

Link nodded.

Revali gave him an annoyed look. “I told you, it was a one time thing! I’m not flying you around like some… chauffeur!”

“What’s going on?”

The two saw Urbosa walking towards them, her brows furrowed as she stared. Link pointed at the sky again, which she looked to.

“Is there another shrine?”

Link nodded.

“Will this get us past that door?”

He nodded again.

Urbosa frowned, looking right at Revali. “You fly him up there, understand? We need to get to Zelda and the only way is for Link to get stronger!”

Revali scoffed, turning away with his wings crossed, but he listened to Urbosa and knelt to the ground.

“Fine! I’m only doing this for Zelda though, so don’t get used to this!”

Link climbed atop Revali once again, giving Urbosa a nod as Revali took to the skies. He could tell the rito was struggling to reach the height they needed to, but with the help of the wind, the two landed back on the island Link first woke up on, right on the platform that he dived off of before.

“Is this the place?” Revali asked, and Link nodded, heading into the building. “I’ll see you at the temple then.”

Link looked behind him and gave Revali a nod, and he ran, desperate to get to the final shrine. It was much more difficult moving through the place compared to the first time, with him not only having to swim, but also having to climb up walls to reach where he needed to get to. It took a moment, but Link finally found himself in the big room where the gears turned, and right in front of him, he spotted a small, red zora, with her back facing to him.

“Mipha!” Link exclaimed, and she spun around, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Unable to hold himself back, Link sprinted to her, her meeting him halfway, and he scooped her up into a hug and spun her around. Finally…

“Link! You’re ok!” Mipha cried, her arms tight around his neck as if she were afraid to let him go. The two held each other for a long moment, relishing in each other’s presence, until Link pulled back and pressed his lips against hers. She practically melted into the kiss, the world around them disappearing as they only focused on each other.

Mipha finally pulled away, her eyes wide and frantically searching his body. “What happened? I saw this building open and I tried to find you, but you weren’t here. I was so worried.”

Link gave her a peck and rested his head against hers. “I’m sorry. I would’ve stayed if I had known.”

Mipha shook her head, a smile on her small lips. “I’m just relieved to see you alright. When we arrived here you…” Mipha sighed, looking down. “You were on the verge of death. And no matter what I did, I couldn’t heal you.”

Link frowned, watching her hands rub against his chest anxiously. It must’ve been the gloom that stopped her magic, which made him nervous. Was light magic the only way to survive the substance?

“Your arm!”

Link looked down at his arm for the millionth time, Mipha tracing her delicate fingers along the markings and jewelry.

“It’s not mine,” Link explained, “I’m borrowing it.”

Mipha stared, his quick explanation clearly explaining nothing for her. He chuckled slightly, pulling the arm away and taking a small step back.

“It saved my life. Don’t worry.”

Mipha didn’t look relieved, but she still smiled, her beautiful and small smile. Ever since the Calamity, the two had chosen to spend more time together, knowing that they almost lost the chance to when it first attacked. He was nervous to do so—he didn’t know how he was going to feel, how he was going to be treated by others, and how the friendship between him and Mipha would change. But it changed for the better. Mipha moved things slow, which was exactly what he needed, and her strong, comforting personality made spending time with her incredible. He always felt drained around others, needing alone time whenever he got too fatigued to play the role of the hero, but Mipha took that stress and obligation away from him, almost making him feel refreshed whenever he spent time with her. Safe to say, he’s fallen madly in love with her over the past few months.

“Do the other champions know?” Mipha asked after a moment of silence, and Link nodded.

“I saw them all. I’ve been collecting light blessings to regain my strength that the gloom took from me.”

Mipha frowned. “Is it helping?”

“Yes. The only way to dispel the gloom from me is with these light blessings.” Link shuffled his feet, looking up at the turning gears. “I need to go to one more shrine to get through a door at a white building, where we can hopefully find out about Zelda.”

“Zelda!” Mipha covered her mouth, standing close to Link. “The others theorized that she’d be in the large white building. Do you think she’s there?”

Link sighed, looking down at the ground. It was all so complicated, so much so he couldn’t really understand what was going on. He turned to Mipha after a moment and gestured to the gears.

“Help me up there and I’ll tell you everything,” he said simply, and Mipha nodded, wrapping an arm around Link’s waist and summoning a strong fountain of water, allowing the two to jump onto the tall ledge. And Link explained everything to Mipha as they walked. Rauru, the shrines, the temple, the constructs, and Zelda in the strange realm from earlier. He explained it all while she listened intently, staring straight ahead while they walked. They were able to reach the final shrine, and Mipha finally decided to speak up.

“So… Zelda isn’t here then?” She asked glumly, and Link sighed, shaking his head solemnly. The others still had hope, but the weird vision he had before made him believe otherwise. It was too strange…

Link walked up to the shrine, activating the magic circle and creating an opening. He turned to Mipha, gesturing for her to stay put, and she nodded, though rather reluctantly.

“Please be careful, Link,” she pleaded, and he nodded, smiling at her and heading inside. As much as he’d love to bring her with him, it’d just be too much to worry about. Especially when the familiar pain of the gloom flared up inside him appeared, causing him to waver. Though he didn’t stumble this time around.

“Link.”

He looked up to see Rauru once again watching him, but he didn’t gesture for him to hold up his hand. Instead he turned towards the shrine where many gears and wheels appeared.

“I’m not sure how much help I can be with this new ability of yours,” he muttered, his hands fidgeting with each other. “It was an ability my… my wife had.”

Link stared, immediately thinking back to the Hylian statue that stood next to him at the end of the shrines. This was the first time Rauru mentioned her.

Rauru sucked in a breath and nodded, clearly pushing aside his emotions. “From what I understand, she simply turned the time on an object and returned them to their original place.” He turned to the wheels turning in the shrine, and he pointed at them. “I’m sure you could make them spin the opposite direction to get where you need to go. But, I’m afraid that’s all I can share with you.”

Link nodded, grateful for the advice. He stepped closer to the wheels, staring for a long moment as they turned. If Rauru didn’t have this ability, then it probably wasn’t based on the zonai magic he was becoming used to, which would make things tricky. For a few minutes, Link stood in front of the wheel, trying to connect to it to reverse time, but it wasn’t having it, stubbornly turning the way it was originally intended. Link was growing frustrated at the lack of progress, his body growing weaker and weaker the longer he was in the shrine, all while Rauru watched from the side. He seemed more down this time around, not speaking up or giving any encouragement he gave before. Link did want a little bit more support, but he didn’t want to make Rauru agitated. So he suffered in silence, trying to activate the recall ability. After a moment, he sighed, rubbing his aching head. He was getting nowhere…

“Link…”

Link opened his eyes, looking up and around the shrine. The voice from before, the feminine one, said his name. He strained his long ears, trying to hear the voice again, glancing at Rauru to see if he noticed, but he didn’t.

“Link,” the voice spoke up again, and he looked up at the ceiling of the shrine, listening intently. “Try to connect to the wheel in front of you. Allow it to tell you where it once was…”

Link blinked, once again turning to Rauru to see if he reacted, but he didn’t. Instead the zonai was staring into space. Link turned back to the wheel, taking the voice’s advice to heart, and he held out his hand, closing his eyes. It felt awkward, opening himself up to something speaking to him, but it worked. In his mind, he saw a vision of where the wheel once was, the time reversing for him to see the path it went. As if pressing the screen on the Sheikah slate, Link touched the wheel in the vision, and when he opened his eyes, the world around him was frozen, the wheel beginning to reverse back to its previous state. With a gasp, Link quickly jumped onto it, allowing it to carry him forward. He landed on his feet when he got over the wheel, and Rauru appeared right beside him.

“It looks like you figured it out. Nice work,” he congratulated, a small smile on his face. “It should be easy from here on out.”

Link nodded and began to move through the shrine, using his other abilities and recall to his advantage. Rauru was quiet for most of the shrine, save for the few words of encouragement, but when Link used recall again, he finally spoke up.

“So… you and that zora girl?” he asked, and Link spun around with his face growing warm. Rauru chuckled, raising a hand in defense. “You must forgive me, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop. It’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak.”

Link looked down, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Though Link felt rather attached to Mipha, being public with her still made him (and her) feel uneasy. There was a stigma around the races of Hyrule intermingling, and they knew they would be met with scorn if people found out about them. Link especially was anxious over it, with enough eyes already watching and judging him. Rauru picked up on his uneasiness and he looked away.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s clear you mean a lot to each other.” Link nodded slightly, still feeling uneasy. Rauru closed his eyes, going silent for a moment. “Keep a watchful eye on her. Keep her safe.”

Link paused, looking up at him. There was pain in his voice, a hurt expression on his face, and he suddenly disappeared before Link, right when they arrived at the end. The more time he spent with Rauru, the more confusing the zonai got for him.

As soon as Link got the light blessing, the gloom was sent out of him and he was taken back to the entrance, where Mipha waited patiently. As soon as she saw him, she rushed to his side, helping him stand as he wavered slightly.

“Are you alright? You were in there for so long!” Mipha asked, grabbing onto him and pulling him close. Link nodded, too tired to speak, and he began moving to an opening, knowing that it was time to return to the temple. He didn’t think they’d find Zelda, but he knew that they would find something important. Mipha simply followed, not pressing for him to speak further, and they stepped outside to find themselves by strange bird-contraptions. Mipha wasted no time in leading Link to it, and she positioned it against the slope so it would glide off. Link helped her, not knowing what she was doing, and when he gave her a look, she finally explained herself.

“These things glide through the air! I take it we need to go to the white building, yes?”

Link nodded, understanding now what Mipha was trying to do, and the couple pushed the bird down the slope, both clinging on for dear life as it flew off of the island, and they were airborne.

“It’s a bit terrifying… I will admit,” Mipha yelled out against the wind, her voice shaking slightly, and Link wrapped his arm around her to keep her more secure. She giggled and rested her head against his shoulder, noticeably relaxing into him. “Thank you.”

Link helped lean the glider forwards so it would reach the temple faster, and soon they landed right in front of the temple, where the rest of the champions waited. They let him walk past him, and he soon began reversing time for the gears on the side, climbing over them and jogging up to a Hylia statue. He was about to move past it until it spoke to him.

“Hero, give me your light blessings, and I will make you stronger.”

Link paused, staring at the statue for a long moment, almost not hearing the words. Unlike the voice from the shrine, there was no voice, but more of a feeling saying things to him. Walking closer to the statue, he bowed his head slightly and prayed to the goddesses, not knowing what he was praying about. A warm feeling enveloped him as he prayed, and he felt the gloom moving in his body once again. But instead of it fighting back against the light, it felt like it was shriveling up, simply not powerful enough to fight back against the divine light. Then the feeling disappeared, and Link watched as more gloom left his body, his entire being feeling stronger than before.

“What was that?” He heard Revali ask from behind him, and Link stared at his hands, walking up to the door and pushing it with all his might. He felt the strength within him beginning to leave, but just as he was about to collapse, the door budged open, and they could see out in front of them.

The champions were all silent as they walked past the large door, the sun setting behind the horizon, giving the sky a beautiful orange hue. A structure stood in front of them with glowing magic swirling on a pedestal, and just as Link expected, there was no Zelda.

“There’s nothing here,” Daruk commented, disappointment in his voice.

The others remained silent, but Revali flew to the structure, with everyone following closely behind, save for Link.

“I’m glad to see that you were able to open the door,” Rauru’s voice was heard behind him, and Link turned to see him standing against the wall, staring at the newly opened door. He turned back to Link. “Are you feeling better? You seem to have more strength in your step.”

Link nodded, admittedly feeling a little better, though not back to normal. Rauru stared for a moment, then nodded.

“You haven’t fully recovered, but that was to be expected. You were almost beyond saving.”

Link instinctively looked down at his arm, knowing how the gloom felt within him before. It really didn’t surprise him.

“The shrines and light blessings were able to remove most of the gloom ailing you, which is a good thing,” Rauru continued, and his gaze softened. “I’m glad to have finally met you. You’re just as Zelda said.”

Link frowned, his curiosity getting the better of him. “How do you know Zelda?” He asked, and Rauru’s eyes widened slightly, but he smiled at him.

“She came into my life when Hyrule was just beginning to grow,” he simply answered, looking out into the dimming orange sky. “The Zelda you know was taken to the past, my era, the founding of Hyrule. But that was a long time ago, I do not know where she is now.”

Link blinked, staring at Rauru for a moment. “In… the past?” He repeated, and Rauru nodded.

“Yes. Zelda has a lot of power within her. Divine light magic, and time magic. She sent herself to the founding of Hyrule when she took my secret stone.” Rauru looked at him, a serious look in his eyes. “Link, listen closely. During my life, I fought the Gerudo King Ganondorf, one who stole power that didn’t belong to him and tried to destroy my kingdom.”

Dread rested within Link’s stomach, immediately thinking about Calamity Ganon, one who nearly destroyed everything he loved.

“I was only able to seal him away,” Rauru continued, “for many centuries it seems, but he broke free, and now your era is danger.” Rauru’s breath hitched, and he looked down in shame. “I am part to blame for it. I have passed on, and I cannot move freely as a spirit, but I am attached to my arm. Please…” Rauru bowed down to Link, and he couldn’t help but step back. “Please, let me fix the mistake I made, let me help you defeat him once and for all.”

Link stared at Rauru for a long moment, in shock from everything he was just told. Zelda was in the past it seemed, but would she be able to return? And the name Ganondorf, was that the corpse from before? From what it sounded like, Rauru was a king, possibly the first king of Hyrule. Ancient history was merging with the present, and Link didn’t feel like he was well enough to deal with it.

“Ok,” Link finally said, and Rauru looked up at him, a smile on his face.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and he disappeared before Link’s eyes. Looking down at his arm, Link could practically feel Rauru’s presence in there. It was probably why he was always near Link, finding him whenever he needed to. Turning to the champions, Link jogged to where they were, climbing and jumping over the broken bridge. Using ascend, Link was able to reach the platform the champions stood on, and they all jumped back in surprise.

“Link!” Urbosa yelled, watching as he crawled out of the floor. “Since when could you do that?”

Link pointed to his arm, then stared at the glowing yellow magic before him. The champions decidedly moved past the zonai magic Link now had, and Mipha gestured to it.

“We’re trying to figure out what it is. We can’t help but feel some connection to Zelda with it.”

Link looked over at Mipha, then at the magic, and he suddenly felt the presence of the decayed Master Sword on his back. The sword chimed weakly, matching the pulsing light of the magic, and Link pulled out the sword. The chiming grew stronger, and the magic grew brighter, and when the two touched, the night sky around him faded into a bright blue sky, where Zelda watched with a shocked look on her face. The sword disappeared from Link’s hands, and reappeared into Zelda’s outstretched ones. She gasped when it landed, staring in amazement at the decayed sword, acting like her curious self once again. Her hand traced along the blade, listening to the chiming of the spirit within, and she hugged it, determination on her face. Then she was gone once again, and Link was back with the champions, the sky completely dark now.

“What happened to the sword?” Daruk asked in amazement, and Link looked down to find that indeed, the Master Sword was gone. Before he could even think about what happened, however, a loud boom was heard, along with a loud roar, and the champions all turned to see the white dragon descending to the sky, the clouds parting for it. The clouds all faded away, revealing their land of Hyrule, and the dragon cried out again, diving to the land below as if leading them to it. The champions all watched in amazement, and the familiar sound of the princess’s voice was heard.

“You must find me.”

The dragon flew further and further away from them as the champions stared, and Link turned to look at all of them. His eyes locked with Urbosa’s, and they both nodded in agreement. They could finally leave the island.

“Champions,” Urbosa started, stepping closer to the edge with her hands on her hips. “Let’s get to Hyrule.”

#king of the gerudo #smiles writes #age of calamity #legend of zelda #legend of zelda au #zelda au #miphlink #I was so disappointed when Rauru wasn't a companion so #Companion Rauru it is!#tears of the kingdom spoilers #whoops #tears of the kingdom

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