[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Overworld Chapter 69 - Peace

...until the sky returned. Dawn broke behind Link as his vision came back, no weight at the other end of his sword. He pulled it back, before giving it one final flourish and returning it to its sheath at his back.

The Dark Portal had gone dormant during the fight, but now its sides collapsed in. Piece by piece, it crumbled and left only ruins.

Overhead, the sky was clear. Save for eight forms, disappearing into the distance. The Sages' dragons were returning to where they had come from. As they rose to the heavens, Link wasn't entirely sure if that was the Temples anymore.

Now, celebration truly erupted. Link's ears rung as the fort was filled with shouting and cheering. Music exploded from the battlements as the dawn of a new day rose on Hyrule, at peace once more.

Both fortunately for Link, and also to some silent dissatisfaction, he was whisked away from the crowds. Zelda had her doubts about her healing truly restoring him to perfect health. Even Endeavor, pulled back to life by a Goddess Herself, needed rest. Link didn't say it, but he could feel a deep fatigue pulling on him even as his shoulders lightened. A great load no longer weighed him down.

Link was brought to the central keep, where, along with Endeavor on her bed across the room, he fell into a deep sleep. There was nothing to call him back awake, nothing to haunt his dreams, only a day no longer haunted by what would come when he woke again.

When he did rise, it was night. Link kept his head pressed back on the pillow, a long-missed desire to sleep in clinging to him. The sounds of partying continued from below, the celebrations still going strong.

He fought off the urge to sleep, shifting in the bed so that he could prop himself up. He was in a small infirmary, likely the keep's original one, somehow largely untouched for all Ganondorf's time here. Its mundanity and survival left Link at ease as he turned to see Endeavor laying on the other bed.

As her eyes remained closed, Link began to stand up, only to find he was mistaken. "You were ordered to rest."

Link winced for a moment in guilt, before he dropped back on the bed. "Right."

"There is no hurry, Link," Endeavor said, turning to face him for a moment before her eyes returned to the ceiling. "Not anymore."

"Old habits," he offered, half joking.

"True. Though too short a time to call it old," Endeavor replied, with a wry grin.

"How are you feeling?" Link asked gently.

"Alive. As weary as that is," Endeavor stated with a hollow laugh. She shook her head, the grin expanding a little. "I am grateful to have that burden."

Link shifted his fingers against the bed, nervous as he asked, "Are you...mad?"

"No," Endeavor answered quickly, turning again to look at him. "No, I am not." She looked back at the ceiling as the smile fell. "Daniel told me what the Goddess had said. About Demise, about my wish. I should have known it would not be so simple."

"Do you know what evil She meant?"

Endeavor shook her head. "I have never heard of it before. It must be old, truly old. The Drex's records span back to the forging of the Master Sword, but this is beyond me.

"But," she turned back to him, the grin back. "I will endeavor to find answers, as long as I am able."

"We have time," Link said, smiling back at her.