Gazing Skyward

Part 5

Time glanced about as the image of the sunny island faded into the lantern lit darkness of a large building. He rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable with the sharp contrast in mood.

Wooden logs were set up on either side of the room. Large notches ran across each of them in different directions. At the back of the building, a small platform was raised slightly above the floor. In the center of the room, a large circle of  flat stones was cemented smoothly in the floor.

Warriors stood next to him. "This is a training hall," he clarified not too loudly.

A couple of hums of understanding arose among them.

Time watched intently as Sky, still a child, emerged from the back room with a practice sword in his grasp. The boy set himself up before one log with a diagonal notch in it.

"Judging by the dim lighting in the room, it's in the middle of the night." Time spoke to the man next to him. "He shouldn't be here right now right?"

"No he shouldn't." The captain agreed simply.

Sky glared at the log with intense focus and shifted his tiny feet into the proper position. Then with one swift stroke he sliced through the log at a strict diagonal angle. The top half of the log slid and tumbled to the floor.

The boy cringed. "Ah. Oops. I'll move on to the next then."

Legend raised a brow. "Oops?" He repeated incredulously. "He had near perfect form and everything!"

"Why is he here so late if he's already got good enough form to cut a small log in half?" Four asked aloud.

A frown settled on Time's lips as he observed how Sky set his stance to slice at the next log. He voiced his own concerns, "Why is his form already this advanced at his current age? When he has no knowledge of his future as a hero, why is he toiling to perfect his skills with a blade?"

Silence descended upon the group as they pondered. They all knew that Sky was the best swordsman in their troop, but they hadn't known how he came to be such until now. It was clear that Sky was determined to perfect his swordsmanship since he was very young. The "why" however, remained a mystery.

The creak of a door opening caused all Links, including young Sky, to turn their attention to the entrance of the training hall. A tall man lumbered in.

"Link?" Instructor Eagus called out in surprise. "What are you doing out here at this hour?"

With a palpable air of guilt, Sky slid the practice sword into its sheath and stared at the ground silently.

Eagus sighed as he observed the despondent boy. He kneeled down to look the kid in the eyes and gently placed his hands on his shoulders. "Somethings bothering you, yeah? You can tell me."

Sky took a shaky breath, but didn't speak a word. His normally soft features hardened in an unreadable visage.

Eagus chuckled softly. "Ever the stoic one... but Link, even the strongest knights have to depend upon others at times. I know I do. So don't bottle up your emotions for too long."

Time felt something twist painfully in his chest. His boys and himself all carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. The man's words seemed to speak to them all.

"I..." The boy stopped himself when his voice wobbled. Tears flooded his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

"It's alright, Link..." Eagus reassured him with a soft pat on the shoulder. "You're the strongest lad I know."

Sky covered his mouth as a sob slipped out. "I... I miss them... I want them back! But I couldn't do anything... Nothing like that should happen again... I won't let it!"

"You were a child, Link..." Eagus reminded him. "You still are. You can train hard to grow your strength, but you shouldn't run yourself into the ground because of unknown peril. You've got your whole childhood to live, lad. Precious hours burned away in the training room won't bring you any more peace."

Time winced, thinking of his own journey. Words like these were hard to hear, even if they were mostly true in Sky's case. The same could not be said for many of them. He could only be thankful that Sky wasn't as young as he was in this moment when his quest began... the age that he was when he himself did.

He didn't know what to feel when he found himself in this projection of Sky. But the words of the man before him tugged at his youthful yet ancient heart as if they were spoken to him directly.

"Let's get you back to your room in the academy. You need to rest, Link." The man told Sky kindly in a way that left no room for argument.

Sky, with his hiccups fading into sniffles, mumbled, "Yes sir... Sorry for the trouble..."

"None of that, lad." Eagus rose to his feet with a pat on the boy's back. "I forgot something of mine in the back. I'll walk you over in a second."

The training hall faded from sight as pure darkness fell over the heroes.

"AH!" Wind exclaimed. "What now?"

The rest silently agreed as they stood there in the dark void. The quiet echoed in the abyss. A few moments passed in suspense.

A familiar chime shyly spoke up and a spark of blue and purple light appeared before the crowd.

"Masters... Masters!"

The hero of warriors perked up in recognition. "Fi!"

"Yes..." The young feminine voice acknowledged in return. "I believe you are all due an explanation. Her Grace had once told me I could have one final wish granted. That was a long time ago... I finally discovered what my wish was and that is this."

Time glared at the light in distrust, yet an anxious air surrounded him. "What did you do?"

"Master... Hero of Time, I recommend taking deep breaths to calm your heart. I mean you no harm. As you are suspended here no time is passing in the real world. I have calculated and eliminated all the risks that could have occurred. Rest assured that all is taken care of."

"What about Sky?" Wild pressed forward with eyes soft in concern. "Where is he?"

"My..." Fi's tone took on an impossible hint of fondness. "My master is secure. Forgive me, but I must ask that you would curb your concerns and curiosity. I don't have much time."

"Please continue," Twilight quickly offered.

"Thank you, master." She continued, "My wish was in fact for the well being of my master the Chosen Hero. The weight of his past that he holds alone will become too much for him. I could already see him tearing himself apart. I decided to step in. I could not bear it any longer... thus here you are... to witness the truth and end my master's suffering. I'm counting on you heroes... s-save him fr-from hi-i-is own demise."

Wind's brows furrowed as the spirit's voice grew static and glitchy like when his gossip stone lost connection with Tetra's. "You're breaking up. You have to go already?"

Warriors stared at the flickering light in determination, "We'll take care of him, dear friend. We will take care of each other as brothers do. Rest easy."

"I'm glad... I'm-m happy... Thank you, masters. F-fare-re-we-el-l..." The light disappeared leaving the heroes in the darkness once again.

"I don't understand why she couldn't just explain what the "dark truth" was instead." Hyrule piped up.

"Not enough time," their leader replied short and grim.