The Heroes' Rebirth - REVISITED | BOTW Sequel/Zelink (The Legend of Zelda)

Chapter 11: Dark

The Master Cycle tore through the grass and dirt as Link and Zelda raced towards Hateno Village. Even in the night, they could see the black and gray smoke come from over the hills and disappear into the stars. Link sat in the front with Zelda holding onto him in the back. They didn't say anything to each other. They couldn't. They both knew that something was happening to the kingdom, and that they would be there to stop it.

They both pushed the prior events to the back of their minds and continued on, preparing for the worst.

Link continued to speed around every corner leaving a very distinguishable trail behind. He could feel Zelda's grip tighten around him. As they got closer and closer they began to smell the smoke and saw it grow bigger in the distance.

A few minutes later, they could see a small group of people at the entrance to the village. They all had somber faces, which confused the two, because there was no fire to be seen. All the houses and shops were as they always were. No fire. Nothing.

They both got off the bike and stood in the midst of them. No one said a word.

"What's going on?" Zelda started to ask, but was cut short when Link sprinted away towards where the smoke was originating from.

"I'm sorry, Princess," one of the men said.

In that moment she realized where the fire actually was. She took off towards Link. She turned a corner, passed a few houses, and arrived at the bridge leading to Link's house.

Or what was left of it.

The house was engulfed in flames. Orange, yellow, and red swarmed around the small building, eating away at what was left. The roof had collapsed and was continuing to go down. The fire crackled and the flames roared.

Zelda ran across the bridge to where Link stood. His body looked as if it were to fall at any moment, much like the house in front of them. She had never seen him look so helpless and shocked. Zelda continued to stare at the house. All of a sudden her mind came back to her.

"Link!" she exclaimed. "We need to put this out!" She began to run towards the small pond to the right but then realized why Link wasn't moving. Not only was the house on fire, but everything connected to it: the tree in front, the small shed, and...

The stable. Two horses lay burned, motionless under the roaring fire.

Link collapsed to his knees. He sat emotionless as he processed what was happening. Then, his entire body grew tight. His teeth clenched and the veins in his neck began to bulge. He felt hot tears start to fall down his face. Then he screamed. He screamed at the burning building in front of him. He screamed for everything that had been lost inside. He screamed for Leighton. He screamed for Epona, his most loyal companion. In that scream, all the anger and sadness that had been building up was released. He silently sobbed, his breathing interrupted by the outpour of tears.

Zelda knelt down next to him with silent tears of her own. She watched the hero mourn for one of his greatest friends. She placed an arm around his shoulder. He turned to look at her. His eyes were red and tear stains lined his face. His whole body shook with his deep breaths. He shifted his eyes down to the grass. With his hand, he wiped what was left off of his face.

"Ok," Zelda said just loud enough for him to hear. "Let's put this out."

Link nodded. He began to stand but stopped as he looked at the house again. Zelda followed his line of sight to the door.

In the flaming doorway stood a dark figure. The flames licked the body. The silhouette stayed still in the doorway for a moment, then stepped out of the now scorched house onto the grass. The hero's eyes and the princess' widened in shock. The dark figure was unscathed by the fire. It was dark; black as the night. The skin was dark gray. The long hair was platinum and tied in a ponytail. It wore what seemed to be the champion's tunic, except instead of blue and white, it was black and dark red. The trousers it wore were gray as well.