A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 77: The Teachings of Time

The rattling and ticking of gears filled Link's ears as he looked around the interior of the tower he had been transported into, the canal and water wheel powering the entire thing, the rickety bridge spanning the rushing water, and the turning wooden beams above. All of it was so—

"Different?" Time's voice echoed. Link turned to see Time standing behind him, his arms folded. "Yeah, I thought it all looked pretty strange, too."

He stepped over as he looked his spiritual descendant up and down.

"You look good. I wore that garb when I was around your age," he continued. "Eh... I might've been a little younger."

Link looked down to see himself wearing a green outfit, one much brighter and simpler than the one Twilight had given him, with a white undershirt and tight white pants underneath. Yet, despite the differences, it still felt oddly the same. He raised a hand, placing it on his chest before looking around the tower again.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Why don't you go outside and look?" Time replied, gesturing toward a set of large double doors, presumably the exit.

Raising an eyebrow out of curiosity, Link stepped to the doors and gave them a hefty push. The doors cracked as they were forced open, allowing the morning light to shine through, momentarily blinding Link as he stepped out into the open air. What he found was a town, different from any he had previously seen.

The tall, sandstone-yellow buildings making up the town square were adjoined, giving the appearance of one continual building, with paintings and other markings covering their walls. Behind him was a large, tall clock tower with an intricate pattern portrayed on the clock's face; and directly in front were the beginning stages of preparation for an upcoming festival. Workmen filled the town square—hammering and shouting at each other as they prepared the stalls and tents—all wearing the same blue vests. Link had even seen a dog run by and yet, through all of this, what stood out the most though was the large moon overhead, with a ferocious face carved into it. Its red and orange eyes stared down at the town, unable to blink from its lack of eyelids.

"What in Hylia's name...?" Link murmured, staring at the oversized celestial rock above. "Time... This is not Hyrule. Where is this?"

"You could tell this wasn't Hyrule," Time said, stepping out of the clock tower. "I'm impressed you put it together so quickly. It took me a bit of time to figure it out; granted, I was still only nine at the time...technically."

"Does the moon not give it away?" Link asked incredulously, still looking the moon in the eyes.

"Still nine...technically," Time replied, now looking up as he stood beside Link. "Welcome to Termina, a...different land to Hyrule where the main settlement is Clock Town, where we happen to be."

"And...how did you end up here?" Link asked, finally pulling his gaze away to inspect the town around them. "What does it have to do with my 'remaining time?'"

"That's an interesting question," Time said. He walked a few paces into the town, gazing around at the construction in progress before turning back to Link. "Have you ever felt lost?"

"Lost?" Link repeated.

"As in... You don't know what to do with yourself," Time said. "You don't have anyone around you that can understand what you're going through, not even yourself. You're going in circles... Wondering what might have been... Maybe what you could have done differently...?"

"Oh... Y-yeah," Link said with a frown, thinking back to the past few months of his life. "Yeah, I've been there."

"Those feelings? That feeling of not knowing what to do... That's what brought me here," Time said, placing his hands on his hips. "You saw him, didn't you? The Great Deku Tree?"