Book 2: The Couple Series
**Slightly More Mature**
After having defeated the Calamity and reliving the harsh realities of their past thanks to Maz Koshia and his trials through the Champion's Ballad, Zelda demands that Link returns to their home i...
Link slowly made his way down the path away from Purah's lab, doing his best to ignore the throbbing pains in his now bruised body. His eyes traced the tracks the Master Cycle Zero had made in the snow less than an hour earlier during his ride, yet his mind wasn't thinking about the divine beast itself. What kept appearing in his mental was the image of the Yiga's mask carefully peeking out from behind the tree he had ridden past. His eyebrow twitched every time the upside-down eye appeared. His hands, which were deep inside his pockets, had formed tight fists that caused the soreness in his arms to hurt even more. Though his thoughts were elsewhere, his eyes had noticed the cycle's tracks in the snow start to diverge from the path it had been following.
He stopped walking as his focus followed the wheel tracks. They ignored the sharp bend in the road, opting to continue straight until they passed the tree and went off the cliff. After a pause, Link moved towards the tree and stepped onto its roots before crouching as he looked behind it. The snow at its base looked bare and untouched. With a heavy breath, he looked up and out over the cliffside towards the roofs of the village below. He knew it was possible the wind had blown any sign of footprints away, if they had existed to begin with.
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Am I really losing it? He asked himself as he stood from the tree and began heading back down the path. I get it, I haven't been the same since the trials, but this feels different. I've been stressed before and this can't be much different. What is going on with me?
"Link! Link!" multiple young voices chanted as he entered the village. Link barely looked up from his thoughts to see the usual group of children running toward him. "Will you play with-?"
"Not now," he answered without even allowing them to finish. Without stopping, he patted a few of them on the head before walking away. "Sorry..."
"Link?" the children questioned as they all stood and watched his backside grow smaller the further he got.
Is he here or is he not?
The question kept swirling around inside his head. He talked himself into believing it was all just in his head before the question once again popped back inside only for him to talk himself into believing the Yiga was around. It always circled back, with Link unable to believe whatever he tried to tell himself. The more he thought, the more he could feel his heart knocking around inside his skull. Faintly, a ringing had appeared deep within his eardrums.
Annoying, he thought to himself as the original question remained lodged in the back of his mind. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I know you're around, whether you're here in the village or away in your part of the desert. Is he here or is he not? Why can't I just go take care of him? I'm tired of this. I'm actually exhausted. But I only just woke up. Is it because he's here? What if he's not and it's just me?
Link arrived at the fork in the road, turning to walk up the mountain towards the bridge. His mind kept swirling. His body continued to ache from the fall. He began to wish he still had Mipha's gift, and yet the moment the thought came to mind, so did the mental image of the decaying body he had seen in his nightmare.
