The courage to find me

Prologue: End of Calamity

POV Link

I feel a strong wind around me, pulling and pushing my battered body. I can't understand how I'm still standing, but I don't have time to think about it. Before me stands one of the greatest abominations I've ever seen - which says a lot, considering the past few months. The creature has a body similar to a boar, appears to be covered in some sort of dark oil, and is gigantic: it must be at least five times my height. From the spots where I've hit it with my Light Arrows, an intense purple light radiates. I have the impression that it is burning from the inside, for where its armor is thinner, a crimson glow shines through - the same hue that also paints the sky above me.

The demonic energy emanating from this being darkens the atmosphere, turning the day into night. The winds intensifie, and I know I can gain some altitude if I use my paraglider. I grip it firmly and take off, rising at least ten meters into the sky. My arms ache, but I can't stop now. Facing the beast, I watch, disgusted, as a slit opens at the top of its head revealing a large eye with a black sclera and a yellow iris, long like that of a feline.

"That's the very core of Ganon's being! Do what you must, Link!" I hear an ethereal voice echoing around me.

I let go of my paraglider mid-air, draw my bow, and feel the time stop around me. No, not stop, but slow down: everything except me moves in slow motion, and I float in the air for those few seconds. But I feel my energy draining instantly and know I can't maintain this focus for much longer. Without much thought, I pull an arrow from the quiver, aim at that large, repugnant eye, and release the string, letting it fly towards it. I strap the bow to my back and grab the glider that is still just above my head - not even two seconds have passed since I have let it go.

The creature roars and writhes in pain from this final blow, and as it opens its great mouth towards the sky, I see an intense, golden light emanate from it, shining like a star. Inside it, there is a girl. Beautiful, ethereal, angelic. I'm momentarily stunned as the intensity of memories, lost for almost a century, hits me. Definitely not all of them; I still don't remember much of what happened before I awoke in the resurrection chamber. But it's enough to daze me as I watch her figure slowly land on the ground, in front of that atrocity. I keep holding my paraglider, but slowly lose altitude as the winds die down, and soon feel the ground beneath my feet.

I watch the girl calmly analyzing the situation. A trepidation takes over the earth as the demonic creature lightly dematerializes, just enough to launch itself into the air. The earthquake causes me to collapse to the ground. The girl, however, remains exactly where she landed, not moving an inch. Then I watch as she extends her right arm towards the abomination with her palm open, and an intense, golden, blinding light shines from it. An energy sphere engulfs the infernal entity, three triangles appear near the base, and seeing them, I'm flooded with a strange feeling of nostalgia, which makes no sense: this symbol is spread throughout the kingdom's territory, it's not new to me. But seeing it so vividly before me, so divine, brings tears to my eyes. Fascinated, I can't look away.

Suddenly, as unexpectedly as it appeared, the sphere disappears, obliterating the creature. The skies, in a few seconds, return to blue. The sun shines again, and after a few moments of silence, the birds' chirping slowly resume. I'm panting, and as the adrenaline leaves my blood, I feel my muscles starting to ache.

"I've been keeping watch over you all this time," I hear the girl say, her back to me, as I stand up. "I've witnessed your struggles to return to us as well as your trials in battle. I always thought - no, I always believed - that you would find a way to defeat Ganon. I never lost faith in you over these many years..." she continues, slowly turning towards me. "Thank you, Link... the hero of Hyrule."

Her green eyes gaze at me intensely, and there's nothing else in the world but her, paralyzing me in place. Flashes of memories of her smile - so rare, back then - hit me.

"May I ask..." she continues, with a hopeful expression. "Do you really remember me?"

Forgetting all my pain, I'm overwhelmed by an impulse to run to her and take her in my arms. To ensure she's alive and well. To look into her eyes and tell her how deeply I missed her, and how this pain was greater than any other injury I suffered during the battles. But I restrain myself, suppress all these emotions, and instead, I kneel in reverence and lower my head.

"Your majesty," I say, without looking up.