#it’s a stabbing pain but it’s not severe | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

smilesrobotlover · 2 days ago

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Chapter 3- Sky Islands

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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…

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The first thing Link felt was the cold.

The damp, cool air caused him to shiver as consciousness slowly began to return to him. He curled and uncurled his fingers and toes, them feeling like ice as they touched warmer parts of his body. The cold traveled up his arms, making him shudder, and he finally opened his eyes. It took a moment for him to comprehend where he was as he laid there, trying to find the strength to not fall back asleep, but the unfamiliarity with his surroundings stopped him from finding more peaceful rest. He was clearly in a cave of sorts, with roots and vines dangling from the gray rocks and poking out of the ground, and he looked to be under a tree that rested protectively above him. Link sat up, curiously observing the mysterious cave he was in, and he rubbed his aching head. How did he get here?

A sudden stab of pain went through his head where his hand was, as if a twig or claw nicked him slightly, and he hissed in pain as he pulled away. He instinctively looked at his hand to see what hurt him, but his stomach sank slightly as he stared at the monstrous arm in front of him. What had nicked his temple were the fingernails, which were sharp and animalistic in nature. They were on a sickly, dark green arm wrapped in golden jewelry that went all the way up to his bicep, and on each finger bore a circular ring. Link stared for a long moment, confusion and panic settling in as he tried to remember what happened and what caused him to suddenly have such a horrifying arm. He glanced at his other arm, but it looked perfectly normal to him, with his simple soft skin and short fingernails that contrasted the rough and decorated alien arm.

“Link, you’re finally awake.”

Link flinched at the sudden deep voice, looking around him in a frenzy to see who was with him, but to his surprise, he was completely alone in the cave.

“Do not be alarmed, I mean you no harm,” the voice continued, though it didn’t ease Link’s unease. “Your wounds were severe, I was afraid that you wouldn’t make it, but I am relieved to see you escape death.”

Escape death… What happened?

“Your arm, however, was beyond saving,” the voice continued. “I had to replace it lest the injury endanger you further.”

Link instinctively looked down at the new arm again, taking in the details. He wondered if it was a prosthetic of some kind, but the way it moved—the way it felt proved otherwise. It was living, with blood flowing through its veins, yet it felt wrong. It wasn’t his, it was… something else. Something alien to him. He rubbed his head again, this time with his left arm, and he tried to remember all that happened. The voice didn’t speak up again, and Link finally stood up, though it was a lot more difficult than he realized. His legs felt weak and numb as they haven’t been used in a while, and his whole body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Link let out a grunt as he stretched his back, feeling slight relief for his tight body, and he finally looked around him, shuffling his feet to get used to them again. The cave was simple, plain and dark, with vines and roots that snaked through the room. But amongst the vines, Link spotted something, and his heart stopped.

The Master Sword.

It was tangled up in vines, but Link could see the decayed and shattered sword as he got closer to it. He stared in shock for a long moment, his breathing shallow as he reached for the hilt, almost hesitant to touch it as if he was unworthy. When he finally grabbed it, he immediately could feel the emptiness inside the sword; the once powerful and divine magic that rested within the Blade of Evil’s Bane was gone, and dread sank within Link’s stomach as he plucked it from the vines. As he observed the decayed blade, the memories from before finally flooded in. They were traveling beneath Hyrule Castle, they found forgotten history, they found gloom getting thicker as they walked, they found a corpse being held up by a green arm, it shot gloom at him, destroying his arm and…

Link glanced down at the new arm. Was it… the same green arm as before? It grabbed him as the corpse shot gloom above them, it grabbed him as he tried to stop Zelda from falling into the abyss with Terrako, it…

Saved him.

It must be the reason why he was here then, and it replaced his destroyed one. He felt slightly better about the new arm, but a new fear settled in.

Where was Zelda? She vanished into a gold light when Link tried to grab her, unless he hallucinated the whole thing due to the pain. Did she… teleport away? He didn’t know she could do that. And the champions… the arm grabbed him and saved him, but did it save the champions? Were they able to get away? Or were they still beneath the castle, fighting for their lives while he was tucked away safely in a cave?

Link huffed, pushing the dread out of his mind to make way determination as he sheathed the broken master sword. Though it wouldn’t do much good for him, it was better than nothing. But he needed to save the champions and Zelda.

He marched towards an opening covered in vines, cutting through them with the broken blade. He was expecting to see more of the same gray rocks from before, but to his surprise, he found himself in a building that had clearly been ruined due to time. It was a large room with stagnant gears to one side and a door straight ahead, and right in front of Link was a strange green circle with a handprint in the middle. He was tempted to leave it be, but curiosity got the best of him, and he walked right up to it. It was clearly a magic circle, with it resting within a statue encircling it. When Link lightly touched it with the right arm, a loud bell rang out, causing him to jump as the gears to the side began moving. The silent air was soon filled with the sounds of machinery as the gears turned, and the door right in front of him opened. Link let out a sigh of relief, grateful he went to the magic circle first, and he took off running, anxious to leave the building and running through the ruins. While running through the hall, small ponds that Link would have to dive into met him, with each dive being higher than the last. On the third dive, he climbed out of the water, laying on the rocky ground with a sigh. He hadn’t been running for a long time, and he was a remarkable swimmer, yet his whole body felt impossibly heavy. Maybe he hadn’t fully recovered from whatever that corpse did to him.

Link rolled over to his side when he felt his stamina go up, and he spotted a little chest glowing amongst the bland vines. Curious, Link scrambled to his feet, opening it with slight excitement. Inside was a tan colored skirt that had wraps underneath. Sandals rested underneath the garments along with a belt and Link frowned. He didn’t recognize this style of clothing. It was clearly old, yet well preserved, and he considered leaving it behind. But the feeling of rocks poking at his feet convinced him otherwise. He wasn’t wearing any clothes, let alone shoes; perhaps it’d be smart to put on something.

After putting on the archaic clothing, he ran to the next opening, feeling excitement as he felt a draft hit his face. Sunlight peered through the mouth of the cave, and Link slowed down when he finally made it out. The fresh air, the warm sun, the sound of trees rustling in the wind felt incredible to Link. It felt like he was inside the dingy cave for weeks, which considering his condition, he probably was. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes to see a stone flooring that led to an edge. Stepping out further into the sun, he walked to the edge, spotted a lake beneath him, and without thinking, he jumped.

As Link jumped off the platform, he was finally able to get a good look at the new world he was in. Several islands that floated were all around him, hovering over a giant island that dwarfed the rest. Orange and yellow leaves were floating away from the trees, hinting at the first signs of autumn, and large, strange white building rested on the large island, which stood out from the rest of nature. To top off the view, a white dragon flew through the sky, right above the white building.

As the large island got closer, Link’s heart began to beat harder, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he dove flawlessly into the water. He emerged with a gasp, the cold water shocking him slightly, yet he felt refreshed with his wet hair growing colder in the wind. The refreshed feeling quickly went away though when he felt heavy and weak again, and he swam to the yellow grass, hopping over big lily pads that were in his way. When he was finally out of the water, he shivered slightly and laid in the warm sun, panting for air as he stared at the beautiful blue sky. He laid for a long moment, the warm sun and his exhausted body threatening to force him to sleep, but the sound of flapping wings caused him to scramble to his feet instead, pulling out his master sword.

“You’re almost dead for an entire week and the first thing you do is dive off a cliff?!”

Link turned to the lake to see a familiar blue Rito standing on a log, his wings crossed and his piercing green eyes glaring at him. Though he never got along with him, Link couldn’t help the relieved smile when he saw the Rito champion. Revali was here which meant… the other champions had to be safe as well, right? Link sheathed the master sword and jogged up to him, stopping when Revali backed away.

“Woah, don’t you dare touch me when you’re soaking wet!” He squawked, his wing out to keep Link from getting closer. Link’s relief was replaced with irritation and to his surprise, offense, but he forced another smile, which made Revali’s gaze surprisingly soften.

“Well, I’m glad you’re at least doing alright,” Revali said, his wings crossed once again as he looked away, almost looking angry to express concern to Link. “We—the others have been worried sick about you. We didn’t know where you were or… if you were alive or…”

He trailed off, his eyes landing on the alien arm that replaced Link’s. Link glanced down once again observing the strange thing.

“Goddesses, what happened while you were up there?” Revali asked, mostly in a rhetorical tone. The arm was simply dropped at Link’s side, and he shrugged, not quite understanding what happened either. He could explain the voice that spoke to him and the arm being the same from beneath the castle, but instead he said nothing. Revali waited for Link to speak up, but when he didn’t, he simply turned away, knowing that Link’s voice never came easily.

“How are you feeling right now?” Revali finally asked, concern more apparent on his face.

Goddesses, how was Link feeling? He was confused, worried, relieved, hurt—he felt a lot of things. Link admittedly felt the need for comfort, but he couldn’t let Revali know that. Instead he stood up straight and forced a smile, nodding reassuringly at the Rito. Revali didn’t look too convinced, but he didn’t press any further.

“Ok, the others are doing ok too, if you’re worried about that.”

Link’s smile was more genuine, relieved that he wasn’t the only one saved.

“Except, Zelda is missing, we don’t know where she is,” Revali continued, and the relief quickly disappeared. “We’ve searched all over the island. We knew you were somewhere in the building above us, but we knew nothing about the princess. We still don’t, honestly. But that white building over there,” Revali pointed behind Link, “we hope that she’s in there. Urbosa feels some divine magic inside. Only issue is, we don’t know how to get in, it’s locked.”

Link frowned. It wasn’t ideal, but there was at least hope that Zelda was alright. It seemed he got hurt the worst from the corpse underneath the castle, which he was grateful for. He couldn’t bear for the others to get hurt the same way.

“Well… Um…” Revali stared at Link for a moment before looking around at the trees. “I’m going to go look for others, they’ll be happy to hear that you’re on your feet again. You should stay put while I’m gone. Just stay at this lake, and I’ll be back. You hear? Stay put!”

Link nodded, watching as Revali gave him a threatening look before flapping his wings and taking to the skies with power. The wind blew dust in Link’s eyes and covered his face with his arm, and when the dust settled, Revali was gone. Knowing that the champions were at least safe, he felt slightly better, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Though, he was still worried about the princess, and he wondered if she got hurt the same way he was and was inside the strange white building recovering. Either way, he needed to find her and the rest of the champions, and so he decided not to stay put so he could try to find them. Sitting around in the mysterious woods while waiting for Revali was not something he wanted to do anyways—he would feel much better if he saw the others with his own eyes. Especially Mipha.

Hylia, she must be so worried about him.

He needed to find her, but he wasn’t able to ask Revali about her. The champions had done well at interpreting Link’s silent language, but they couldn’t pick up on everything and Link couldn’t ever find the voice in time. It was frustrating, but it was something he had to deal with.

The woods were quiet as he walked through them, with beautiful sunbeams shining through the colorful leaves, leaving a warm light on the yellow grass. He was amazed that something like this was in the sky of all places, and he wondered how and why nobody knew about it. Were they still near Hyrule? Or were they in an entirely new realm? Link had seen the three dragons of Hyrule disappear in a circle of clouds before, and so he wondered if he was in the same area as them. Link’s eyes landed on the flying white dragon when he thought of that, and he stopped walking, mesmerized by the divine creature.

There had only been three known dragons in Hyrule: Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra. Each one had their one distinct color that made them stand out amongst the skies and terrain they flew across. But this one was clearly not one of them. He could barely see the details of the white dragon, but a colorful light trailed behind the creature, which didn’t match the clumps of elements that surrounded the normal dragons. Who was this dragon, and why hasn’t he seen it before?

Link’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted with a strange mechanical noise. He spun around and saw a one-eyed robot with green light acting like a skeleton as it held pieces of green machinery together. It held a large wooden stick and started to float straight for Link, the red eye glaring into him. The hero simply stood there as the robot got closer, not knowing if it was dangerous or not, but a quick swipe for Link’s side answered his question, and he dodged out of the way before it was able to land a hit on him.

It didn’t seem difficult to fight; it felt like it was no more difficult than a red bokoblin, but he couldn’t fight it unarmed no matter how easy. Link searched the ground for a weapon, not wanting to risk damaging the master sword further, and he was able to find a tree branch by his feet. Though it took a few hits, the branch miraculously defeated the construct, and the robot exploded into a green light. Link let out a sigh and collected the wooden stick, knowing it would fare better than the master sword and the branch.

Leaving the broken machine behind, Link found himself in a clearing with a green statue in the middle. The same green circle of magic as before was in front of the statue, and Link instinctively reached out to touch it, curious as to what it would do this time. The statue suddenly began moving, green light controlling every loose piece and shaping it until a big, lizard-like robot stood before him. Link pulled out his wooden stick, expecting yet another battle, but it simply tilted its head at Link.

“Link, I have waited for you,” it said in a soft, mechanical voice. Link’s eyes went big and he put his wooden stick away, squinting his eyes at the strange thing. The robot straightened its posture and nodded at him. “Princess Zelda left something for you in my care.”

Link’s breath hitched at the mention of the princess. So she was safe, thank Hylia. Link’s pose relaxed and he let out a long sigh, the stress leaving him. The champions were safe and so was Zelda. That’s all that mattered to him. The robot made a sound, and a drawer opened from its chest. It reached inside to grab something, and out came Zelda’s Sheikah slate, with the robot offering the slate to Link.

“This is the sheikah slate. I am told that it is an invaluable tool and will provide you with directions,” it simply explained, the slate looking small in the robot’s large hands. Link stared at it confused as he picked it up. He was familiar with a sheikah slate; it was a helpful tool when fighting different monsters, and every champion had one thanks to Purah and Robbie. But he wondered why Zelda was giving this to him, and why she wasn’t the one to do it. Zelda wasn’t exactly one to willingly part with the Sheikah slate since it was her main weapon before, but Link glanced at himself and figured that he shouldn’t complain. His own Sheikah slate was probably destroyed in the castle.

“I received it from princess Zelda. I have now passed it onto you,” the robot continued, its hands pulling back once the slate was claimed. “My records indicate that princess Zelda is waiting at the location marked on its map. My message has been delivered.”

Link glanced at the map, seeing a pin at the large structure on the floating island. So Zelda was in that building, just as the champions suspected. What a relief. He attached the sheikah slate to his hip and gave the robot a nod.

“I am a steward construct, if you need any assistance, come to me or the many stewards on the island,” the steward construct explained before turning away from Link. The hero opened his mouth to ask the many questions he had. What is this place? Where am I? What happened? But no sound came out. Even to a robot, Link still couldn’t find his voice. When the construct was far away from him, he pursed his lips and let out a sigh, heading to the direction where Zelda was said to be.

The green magic circles that matched his hand fascinated Link. They always seemed to make something happen just by his touch. Thanks to one of them, he was able to build a bridge and get closer to the white building. He was curious about the power now at his fingertips, and he wondered who it used to belong to. The arm from beneath the castle clearly matched his new one—the same green glowing color, the same golden ornaments, even the beast-like fingers matched. But who did this powerful arm belong to? Link found himself staring at the new hand once again, taking in every detail as there was always something new he didn’t notice before. He was so distracted with his hand that he accidentally ran into another steward construct. The robot turned around and Link jumped back, giving an apologetic bow.

“Hello,” it greeted him, not seeming to care that it was bumped into. “You should be careful walking through these woods. Soldier constructs may be a threat to you.”

Link tilted his head. The robot he fought before, was that a soldier construct? How many different types of constructs were there?

“Soldier constructs protect this land and eliminate trespassers. They may fight you and should be seen as a serious threat,” it explained, and Link nodded. He figured that they were dangerous since the last one he met tried to kill him. He gave the steward construct a grateful bow and continued walking towards the building. The area grew more foggy, so much so that he was barely able to see the aforementioned constructs pacing the area, waiting for something like him to appear. Despite the steward construct’s warning about the soldier constructs, Link charged in, defeating the constructs in minutes. It was hard to see them as a serious threat when they were more harmless than a normal bokoblin.

As Link traveled closer to the white building, he saw yet another steward construct sitting by a fire. It was surprising at how many of those guys were here. It glanced up at him and watched him silently as he got closer, and Link stopped abruptly when he smelled something delicious.

“Are you hungry?” It asked, its mechanical voice the same as the other ones. “It is my duty to make all sorts of meals for those who consume food. I do not, but I do enjoy experimenting with different combinations. I suggest you try one of my meals.”

Link walked over shyly, eyeing a baked apple with his mouth watering. Goddesses, when was the last time he ate?

He picked it up slowly, the steward continuing to stare at him. When it said nothing, he finally allowed himself to bite into it. The sweet and tart taste of an apple met his tongue, but there was a hint of cinnamon that practically kissed his taste buds as he ate the apple. The fruit melted in his mouth and he felt like he was in heaven—though it was a simple apple, it was the best apple he’s ever had.

“I hope it’s to your liking,” the steward construct said, and Link nodded enthusiastically, finishing the first meal he’s had in a week. The construct nodded and gestured to the rest of the food laying there. “You may take as much as you’d like. I do not need it.”

Link gratefully took the food and gave the construct a grateful bow. He stuck another apple in his mouth and continued his trek to the building, feeling slightly more rejuvenated thanks to the food. When he got close to the building, he was met with a broken bridge, but it was no issue for Link as he shoved a baked acorn in his mouth and hopped on the side, climbing it with ease. When he reached the top however, he was met with another soldier construct, this one bearing a shield. He sighed, fiddled with the nut in his mouth and pulled out the wooden stick he got from the soldiers. The construct floated towards him, beginning its attack, but Link dodged with ease, rolling behind it and smacking its back. The construct flinched and was thrown off balance, allowing Link to deliver the final blow, destroying the construct. He adjusted the nut still in his mouth and began to nibble on it, collecting the perfectly good shield. Finally, he made it to the building’s doors, quickly eating the nut so he wouldn’t greet Zelda looking like a slob, and he wiped his hands on his trousers. There was a familiar green magic circle with the hand symbol in the middle, and he touched it, expecting the door to open like before, but to his surprise, a red X appeared on the circle, denying him access. He stepped back slightly, looking up at the large doors in confusion.

“That door will only open to those with sufficient power.”

Link jumped and spun around, his weapon drawn and shield up, but his defensive pose dropped slightly as he stared at the person in front of him. He was obviously a ghost, but he was a ghost of a tall creature with large ears on each side of his head, with a short snout and horns on the top of his head. His turquoise eyes watched Link, framed by long, white lashes. Decorated on his body was jewelry and a shawl that covered his upper body, with a tunic that draped over his short legs—it was certainly a style Link had never seen before. The ghost simply smiled and raised a hand defensively.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you,” he said, and Link noticed the uncanny similarity between this ghost’s arm and his new one. “You may have this figured out, but it was I who spoke to you earlier.”

Link frowned, remembering the strange voice he heard when he first woke up. He stood up fully, putting his wooden stick away while staring at the ghost intently. The ghost lifted his arm, as if proving Link right that their arms were the same.

“That arm belonged to me. Seeing how I no longer have a physical form, I didn’t need it anymore. Not as much as you did at least.” The ghost’s arm rested at his sides again and he stared directly into Link’s eyes. “I am Rauru. I see you’re doing well despite nearly losing your life earlier, that is good news.”

Link looked down, instinctively looking at his new arm and not feeling satisfied with an answer to his previous question on whom the arm belonged to. Rauru floated closer to him, staring at the large, white doors.

“That arm should allow you to open this door, but it seems it has lost the power to do so,” he muttered solemnly. He glanced down at Link and rested his hand on his chin. “You should be able to restore it, fortunately. You’ll just need to enter a place filled with sacred light.”

Link frowned, not knowing where such a place could be, but Rauru chuckled.

“Do not worry, from what I can see, the many shrines on this island seem to still be standing.” Rauru turned and gestured to buildings that had a glowing green spiral coming out of the tips. Link stared and spotted more of them scattered on different corners of the island, and he nodded. Rauru nodded back. “Yes, the shrines are the key, I’m sure of it.”

Link stared at him as his expression grew melancholic, and suddenly, Rauru disappeared, leaving Link alone. He sighed, soaking in the information he got from the ghost. The only way to get to Zelda was through that door, and to do that he had to go to shrines scattered across the island. He wondered why she was locked in there, and if the champions even knew that’s where she was. It was all too strange to him—an unfamiliar world, an unfamiliar enemy, an unfamiliar creature guiding it, an unfamiliar arm—he was almost wishing that things could go back to normal. But he was here now, with a new danger threatening his home and friends, so he had to suck it up and fight back, just like he’s done before.

Link looked over to the closest shrine and began his journey to it, hoping to get this done as soon as possible. He wasn’t the biggest fan of taking time on tasks, let alone tripping over nature to get to his destination. It was a huge pain, but at least he’d be able to get to Zelda with the champions, wherever they were.

He just hoped they were safe.

When Link got closer to the shrine, he heard the sounds of fighting, and he quickly spotted the Gerudo champion fighting the soldier constructs. Even though Revali showed Link that the champions were safe, he was still relieved to see Urbosa fighting with ease. She took down the constructs as if they were annoying pests, shocking them with her lightning and taking them down with her scimitar. Link figured he could sit back and wait for her to finish before reuniting with her, but as he watched, he noticed a straggling construct at a higher elevation, a bow in its hands. Urbosa was too distracted with the other constructs, and when the construct drew an arrow, Link knew he couldn’t sit back anymore. He ran to the sniper, trying to stay out of sight as it aimed for the Gerudo champion, and he swung his wooden stick at the construct, killing it instantly. He picked up the discarded arrows and bows, grateful to get more weapons, and he looked up to check on Urbosa. All the constructs were dead, and the chief was smiling at him.

“Link! Get down here!” She commanded, sheathing her scimitar and shield and walking towards him. Link smiled and jumped down to greet her. The Gerudo chief pulled him into a tight hug when they met, and Link hesitantly reciprocated.

“We were so worried about you,” she said, rubbing his back gently as she swayed back and forth. She finally pulled away and held him at arm level. “You were put in this strange building and we’ve been trying to keep these constructs away from you.” Urbosa smiled gently and cupped his cheek. “I see you’ve recovered though. I’m so glad.”

Link smiled and nodded while Urbosa glanced at his arm.

“That arm… Goddesses that felt like eons ago,” she murmured, staring at the strange appendage. “It took us away when the castle fell and put you in that building. We heard a voice telling us that you would be healed, but then we were locked out, unable to see you as it happened.”

Link frowned. He had no idea that they weren’t by his side as he healed. They weren’t there when he woke up, but he chalked it up to bad timing. They must’ve been worried sick about him, not being able to see him. Mipha would have normally been worried if she could be by his side, but if she couldn’t…

“Mipha?” Link suddenly blurted out, his voice sounding raspy and clearly unused, and Urbosa gave him a teasing smile.

“She’s fine. That poor girl, she never left the island you were left on.”

Link looked down, longing to see her again. He could really use her support with everything going on.

“I’m not sure if you know this, but from what I’ve seen, Zelda isn’t here,” Urbosa said solemnly. “I don’t know where she is, but I pray she was taken somewhere safe as well.”

Link lifted his head and glanced over at the white building. Urbosa glanced over as well and took a few steps towards it.

“We’ve had our theories, but is she in there?” She asked, hope apparent in her voice.

Link nodded and opened his mouth to explain the situation, “I need to go to the shrine to open the door,” was all he could say. Urbosa gave him a knowing nod and grabbed his arm, escorting him to the shrine.

“Daruk has tried to break through that door,” she started to explain, “no matter what, we couldn’t get inside. If I had known she was in there, I would’ve tried harder.”

Link gave her a sympathetic look.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get into the shrines either,” she continued, stopping when they reached the shrine’s entrance which was blocked off by a green magic circle, “so I’m not sure how you’ll be able to get inside. But we’ll figure something out.”

Link nodded, walking up to the circle and touching it. The light dispersed and an entryway appeared, a green light beckoning him further.

“Wow, you figured that out fast!” Urbosa exclaimed, walking closer to the shrine. “I suppose that arm has many uses.”

Link took a step forward and stopped in front of the entryway. He turned to look at Urbosa, waiting for her to join him, but she shook her head.

“Sorry Link, I have a feeling I’ll be a burden to you. I’ll be waiting for you out here.”

Link nodded and stepped inside the shrine, leaving Urbosa behind. As soon as he left the islands and entered the large room of the shrine, vertigo and nausea assaulted him all at once. He gasped in pain as it felt like his insides were on fire, and he fell to his knees, his left hand grasping his chest and his breathing heavy as the pain moved through his body.

“Link.”

Link looked up to see Rauru watching him, a worried look on his face. The ghost floated over to him, studying him as he sat there shaking.

“The gloom that still remains in your body is reacting to the light in the shrine. It wants you to leave, to shelter yourself from the light. But I’m afraid you must not listen to it.”

Link let out a whimper, sitting up straight and taking in deep breaths.

“Do not worry, Link. The light will not only strengthen my arm, but it will remove some of the gloom still stuck to you. You just need to endure.”

Link took in a deep breath through his nose, and he nodded, standing up shakily to face the ghost. He needed to continue onward, for Zelda.

“Give me your hand,” Rauru commanded, and Link offered him his right hand, forgetting that it technically wasn’t his. Rauru extended his own, and a green light appeared above Link’s shaking palm. His right arm began to glow with the light, and Link felt something settle inside his palm.

“That is the ultrahand ability,” Rauru explained. “With it, you can build anything, anything you can imagine. Come, let me help you learn how to use it.”

Link took a deep breath and stepped forward despite everything within him screaming at him not to. Rauru guided him to a wooden plank laying on the ground and gestured to it with his hand.

“I want you to pick up this plank with ultrahand. Extend your hand towards it and imagine yourself grabbing it.”

Link frowned and extended his hand, continuing to shake terribly. Though he imagined himself grabbing the plank, nothing happened. He let out an exhausted huff as his hand dropped, and he leaned on his knees.

“I’m terribly sorry Link, I know these aren’t the best learning circumstances. But I’m afraid all I can do is teach.”

Link gave him a look and rubbed his aching head, standing up straight to try again. He needed to push through, he needed the power and he needed the gloom gone. Letting out a breath he tried again, almost feeling his right arm tingle slightly as he tried to pick up the plank, but once again, nothing happened. Rauru hummed and walked over to him.

“Whenever I used this ability, it always felt like my arm was extending towards the object. Perhaps if you… extend your arm, it’ll work.”

Link gave him another look. He was already extending his arm, yet nothing happened. Was Rauru saying for him to stretch it out? Or for him just hold it up like he’s been doing? Or to simply imagine it extending? Link let out a frustrated huff and held his arm up again. He shouldn’t get mad at Rauru; he was trying to help him out, and Link was grateful that he didn’t have to try to figure this out on his own with the way he was feeling. But he was really hoping to figure it out soon.

“Try to extend your arm,” Rauru muttered, looking away when Link shot him a glare. Link decided to listen however, and stretched his arm out. He expected nothing to happen again, but to his surprise, he felt the arm extend and move towards the wooden plank. A green light came from his arm as it encircled the plank, and Link felt to grab it. To his relief (and surprise), the magic grabbed the plank and lifted it off the ground. So he literally had to extend it for it to work.

“Nice work!” Rauru cheered. “I knew you could do it. I apologize if my advice isn’t helpful—I grew up with these abilities, so it’s hard to explain them to someone who hasn’t used them before.” Rauru smiled at him. “But you picked it up quickly.”

Link smiled and set the plank down, still feeling weak and shaky, but feeling more confident in himself.

“Now it’s time for you to stick things together!”

Link’s smile dropped. There was more he had to figure out? He wiped his forehead and glared at the plank.

“I did say you could build things! You can’t do that without sticking things together, can you?” Rauru floated over to another plank and pointed at it. “If you can pick things up, you can stick them together. It’s the same idea. Extend your arm, and use the magic that comes out of your hand to stick them together.”

Link sighed and raised his hand again, lifting up the plank with much ease the second time around. He moved the plank to the one by Rauru, touching the two ends together. He didn’t know how to stick them together, but he focused his energy on where the two planks touched. To his surprise, the magic brightened in that spot, and a strange green substance appeared, sticking the two planks together. He gasped and accidentally dropped the two stuck planks as Rauru cheered.

“Good work! You got past the hard part!”

Link walked over and stared at the green substance. Rauru gave him a knowing look and poked at it with his ghostly fingers.

“This is Zonai magic that’s been condensed into physical form. Far more durable than anything else in all of Hyrule.”

Link looked over at Rauru in shock. Zonai? Weren’t those the ancient people that Zelda rambled about? Looking at Rauru now, he did look like the statues that were beneath Hyrule castle. So Rauru was a… Zonai?

“Unfortunately, it can’t be produced in mass, so it’s used sparingly. Like to stick two objects together,” Rauru continued, not picking up on Link’s revelation. “Now, I bet you’re wondering, ‘how am I going to unstick them’? Well, this is the easiest thing to figure out! Just pick them up and shake them!”

Link snapped out of his stupor and went to unstick the planks. Just as Rauru said, it was a very simple thing to do. Link picked it up and shook it around, causing the Zonai magic to dissolve and dropping the plank he didn’t grab. Rauru smiled at him and nodded, and the two continued further into the shrine.

The shrine on the outside was relatively small, around the same size as a normal shed. For a shrine, it was quite pathetic, but on the inside the shrine had vast rooms that were incomprehensible to Link. How were these rooms able to fit inside such a tiny shrine? The Sheikah shrines at least went deep underground, which explained why they were so big. But the Zonai shrines? It was too much for Link’s tired mind. Zonai magic was strange.

Truly magic in general was strange to him. He couldn’t comprehend thinking of something and having it happen, similar to how Mipha could heal. He was always a more physical fighter, using weapons to directly slay monsters. Using magic for the first time was odd to say the least.

It didn’t take long for Link to make it to the end thankfully. He had to make an object to zipline to the end, and fortunately the more he used ultrahand, the easier it became for him. When he landed on the other side, he walked up to a small structure that had a window, revealing two white statues. In the front, there was yet another green circle. Link figured he should get used to seeing those since they seemed to appear everywhere now.

“Good work Link, now get a light blessing. It will help with the gloom,” Rauru said, before disappearing again. Link touched the green circle in front of the structure, causing it to rise and show the two statues in full. The one on the right was obviously Rauru, but a smaller, more Hylian looking statue to the left made Link puzzled. There was a lot more to Rauru that he didn’t know.

“Visitor to this Shrine of Light….” a voice suddenly spoke up, breaking Link from his thoughts. The voice was a deep, soothing feminine voice, one Link had never heard before. “That which imprisons and purifies the ancient evil… You have done well to reach this place…”

Link stared at the statues, specifically the woman to the left. Was she the one speaking to him? Were these statues similar to the goddess statues all over Hyrule?

“We offer this light that will cleanse you of evil.”

A golden orb appeared, resting in front of Link. Though the pain had dulled, it began to flare up again as Link reached to grab it. He gasped as he felt a sharp pain go through him, but it was gone as soon as he touched the orb. Link felt movement within him, and he watched as misty gloom began to leave his body. Though the dull pain wasn’t fully gone, Link suddenly felt lighter, more energized.

“May the Light of Blessing grant you the strength you seek.”

The structure fell, blocking off the statues again, and Link felt himself move out of the Shrine of Light. When he stepped back outside, he felt the pain subside, yet it lingered slightly. Urbosa was at his side as soon as he came out, looking at him with a worried look on her face.

“Are you alright?” She asked, her hand resting on his shoulder. Link swallowed and nodded, trying to give her a pleasant expression, but she didn’t seem convinced. “You look pale,” she stated.

Link let out a sigh. Though the shrine was painful to get through, he really was feeling better, but he supposed he couldn’t escape Urbosa’s concern. He gave a thumbs up and had a more genuine expression on his face, and Urbosa’s worry fell slightly.

“Alright. So what happened? Are you able to open the door now?”

Link pursed his lips and looked down. There were more shrines from what he’s seen on this island, and he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to open the door until he visited all of them. He wondered if there were more abilities to learn too.

“I’ll take that as a no then,” Urbosa said, studying his face. “Daruk is somewhere on this island, maybe you can try to find him so we can work together in getting this door down?”

Link knew that he would be able to open the doors himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to correct her, and he nodded.

“I’ll go ahead and see what I can do to the door, I trust you’ll be fine on your own?”

Link gave her a reassuring nod and watched as she walked away, staring for a moment as his strength began to return to him. He turned around to observe the area, not knowing where he was going to head next, but knowing his goal to reunite the champions and princess together. They just needed to wait a little longer until he got strong enough.

#yayyyy update!!!#after so many month lol #I had fun playing with the magic #king of the Gerudo #tears of the kingdom #age of calamity #totk spoilers #smiles writes #a little clunky but I’m tired of working on this #we postin it #tears of the kingdom spoilers

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