A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 89: The Island Above the Clouds

Soft. Warm. Comfortable. These feelings were unexpected. For however long he had been on the last trial floor, he had felt nothing but dirt, soot, and pebbles beneath his body when lying down. Was this the next floor; possibly one of the tranquil oases the Master Sword would present to him after an exceedingly difficult challenge? It must be. Judging by the previous trial, he was sure he would have died if he had materialized unconscious on a floor of similar difficulty.

Grumbling, he turned over in his comfortable oasis, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to go back to sleep. He wasn't dead and that was all that mattered. Surprisingly, the pain in his body had vanished, meaning he could finally get the peaceful sleep he had been craving while in the trials. Before he could properly fall back asleep, he felt something next to him, constantly shaking and shifting against the softness beneath them. Suddenly, his pointed ears twitched, and he heard the soft whimpering of a woman.

It was at that moment he remembered that this time around, he hadn't been the only one taken by the Master Sword.

"Zelda?" Link exclaimed as he bolted upright. Immediately his eyes widened, taking in his new surroundings.

He was in a large room—one different from any he had been in before—with slightly curved, green walls, though the room seemed to have been split by a large wooden divider, obscuring the other half. The floor was smooth and hard, with only a colorful rug to give it a small measure of charm. The furniture consisted of a wardrobe, a bookshelf decorated with wooden sculptures and books, and a corner desk that had been wedged between the irregular green wall and the divider. Finally, there was the bed Link currently found himself sitting in.

"It's not a forest this time?" Link mumbled to himself.

While still inspecting the room, his brow furrowed with concern. Something was off about this place. On its surface, the room looked normal, but the longer he stared, the more he noticed smaller details. Little specks of light were floating through the air, the edges of the furniture looked ever-so-slightly warped, and the room itself was suffused with a faint teal mist.

"The trial is still going," Link muttered. "The first one had me chasing the Skull Kid through a forest and the second had me fighting through the undead in Old Castle Town... What's this one supposed to be?"

Before his thoughts could wander further, the whimpers echoing around him grew louder. Immediately he looked down next to him to find Zelda, lying in the bed next to him with her eyes closed. Her body was shaking and sweaty, her brow scrunched and her breathing labored. She tossed and turned, occasionally grabbing the sheets that were over her, only to release them for a second as she readjusted in the bed.

"Zelda? Zelda, what's wrong? Hey—!" Link tried to call, reaching out to take her by the shoulder. He wanted to shake her awake, to rid her of whatever nightmare was tormenting her, but his hand simply went through her.

Confused, he raised his hand and inspected it, realizing the furniture in the room wasn't affected by the strange, otherworldly aura. Looking down, he noticed he was wearing another green tunic—one that was baggier than the others he had worn before—but this was unimportant compared to the rest of his body, which also had that strange teal glow. Seeing that his body was translucent, he looked down at where he had been resting to find his own body still laying down on the pillows, his face peaceful and tranquil compared to Zelda's sporadic jolting.

"Hey... Hey, hey, hey, what's going on here?" Link called out loudly. He stood up on the bed and jumped over Zelda's body, planting his boots on the hard floor before crouching down to her level in order to better inspect her features. "Zelda? What's wrong? Zelda? Can you really not hear me?"