The Legend of Zelda: A Link Across Time - My Own Version of Linked Universe

V: Unfamiliar Territory

When Link opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely different world.

From where he laid, he could see what was presumably Hyrule Castle in the distance, shrouded in a red... fog? Mist? Storm? He couldn't tell exactly. It was also surrounded by five giant pillars, glowing red in certain spots. It was an otherworldly sight, almost as crazy as Hyrule Castle being shrouded in twilight.

Beyond the castle, however, was the most beautiful landscape Link had ever seen. A massive volcano loomed overhead to the northeast; a snowy mountain peak that was almost as massive towered to the northwest. In front of the castle lay a massive open plain, only broken up by small forests here and there. And throughout the rest of the landscape were hills, mountains, forests, cliffs, and occasional buildings and ruins spread about. It was even more beautiful than the world Link was familiar with.

I don't know how I got here, he thought, staring at the scenery in wonder. But I'm not complaining. This place is magnificent...

He slowly stood up, feeling the wind blowing his hair back. He sucked in a deep breath, taking in the fresh air. It was so much more pleasant for his sensitive nose than back home. No musty odors like at his house or in the castle. He couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

That is, until he was attacked out of nowhere.

A strange creature came up into his peripheral, holding what looked to be a wodden club with spikes on it. It had red skin, a pig-like nose and ears, and it walked like it had a hump in its back. Like that would do anything to impede its mobility; it ran about as fast as a human would, carrying the massive spiked club like it weighed nothing. Link just barely manage to evade the swing of its club, which struck the tree behind him instead, leaving a few chips in its trunk. The creature made a strange sound, pointing at him and stomping its foot in a temper tantrum. Link had only one thought in mind.

RUN.

Link turned and fled as fast as he could. Any other day he would've liked to fight the creature, but he had no weapons. That club would've easily cut him up badly with those spikes on it. It was better for him to run and find safety than risk getting injured. He was not at all familiar with this world, so finding someone to help him would be a lot more trouble than he was willing to go through.

He continued to run until the strange creature was out of sight, occasionally side-stepping trees and avoiding drop-offs, then stopped to catch his breath. After taking a minute to make sure no monsters were nearby, he looked up and was surprised by what he saw.

Right before him, sitting on a large stone platform, was a massive ruined building. It looked grand, like some sort of temple. It had a large peaked roof and supposedly had three towers at the front - two of which were intact, the third seemingly gone. The sides of the building were lined with windows, some of which were shattered. And scattered about on the outside of it were large, pot-shaped objects with spider-like legs poking about. Some of them looked like they were trying to scale the wall, while others simply lay flat on the ground. None of them moved.

Link stared at the ruined building in wonder. This must've been a place of importance, being that it looked like a temple. He wondered if there was anything inside it, anything that might answer the million questions he had about where he was. He supposed there was only one way to find out.

Carefully, he jumped off the ledge he stood upon and down into the grass below. He quickly looked around - no monsters in sight - then took off in a sprint towards the ruined building. He had to manuever around the strange spider-legged-pot things before making it to the door of the ruined building. He stepped inside.

Inside the temple reminded Link of the Sacred Grove: the ruins were covered in moss, leaves, and other flora as nature slowly reclaimed the area. There were a few pots lying around, some of them already smashed. At the far end of the main room was a tall statue in the likeness of the Goddess Hylia, surrounded by several smaller statues. And to the left, there was a massive hole in the wall. It was as if someone or something tried to tear the place down. Maybe that's what those big spider pot things were trying to do... It sounded ridiculous, but Link couldn't think of any other possibility.