Autumn in Akkala

Ch.45 A Place Inside Your Head

Termina Located

!Link Hyrule Castle

It feels weird to hear myself think.

The vibration of my thoughts and of my energy couldn't be heard with the deity so ruthless in drowning out my every conviction.

My very existence was being flushed out by his desire. The desire for him to go home.

Shame on him for not understanding that my desire to go home was stronger.

And my will was only fortified every time I heard Y/N say my name.

Because of Y/N, the deity could not contain my consciousness. Nor the consciousness of the Hero of Time. My time as a deity has brought me to a rude awakening about the hero's soul within me.

A truth that Y/N may not want to hear.

But I have found Termina.

It is a place that exists, but only behind the masks.

It only exists inside your head.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Link stood before you and Zelda; the scalding orange of the blood moon flooded through the window of the library, almost swallowing him whole, if not for the determination to return to you present in his blue irises.

"Y/N." Link gathered you into his arms, neither you nor Zelda making it past the threshold of the library door. His lips brushed the top of your head as he cradled you against his chest. "I am so, so sorry." Zelda sauntered into the library in an attempt to provide you both with much-needed privacy. But it was no secret to you; the display of affection hurt, and so she kept her back turned and her face positioned toward the blood moon, preferring to watch the earth be shattered rather than her own heart.

"You were trying to tell me. So many times, you tried to tell me, and I could not listen. No, I would not listen. Because of my own self-inflicted prejudice."

You looked at Link, whose thumb grazed the sneaky tears that had fallen from your eyes. "Link? What are you saying?"

"I heard him." Link enunciated 'him,' and it was as harsh to your ears as the sound of Zelda's sobs of heartache.

"Him?"

"The hero of time. On the top of Akkala's lab, before I wore the mask, he spoke to me. I could hear him, as clearly as I can hear you right now." He continued, "And every time you tried to tell me, I-"

You pressed your lips against his, wanting to swallow every ounce of apology from them. You were elated. At least if the world was going to end, Link now understood who you truly were and could also reiterate that you were indeed not crazy. That the hero of time really was a lost soul that seemed to somehow communicate with those of the souls in the present.

Remembering Zelda's presence, you pulled away abruptly. Link's eyes opened; he wore an expression like a needy infant who was torn away from their mother's teat when they were hungry. He clasped your face in between his palms, drawing close to you again, only to see the glum glare of your gaze that pointed in her direction. He released you and stood up. Tousling his bangs and looking away, he offered you his hand and pulled you to your feet. "I was never mad at you, Link. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. How do you tell someone you're hearing voices?"

"Very easily." Zelda responded, still sucked in by the site of the blood moon's impending landing. The color of the blood moon's rays had dyed her cornflower gold hair into copper. And even with Mother Nature's cheap dye job, she still looked beautiful. "So, Link, what did you learn during your time as a deity?"