The Revival of Shadow Link

2:

I woke up on a hard, cold, stone floor.

Again.

Except this time, it was in a much darker location, it was much colder, and I honestly considered the possibility that was some sort of hell.

I shivered. I was breathing at least, and...

I placed two fingers on my neck where my pulse would be. Sure enough, my heart was beating.

I wasn't dead?

I shouted a swear word that I will not share because I know one person who tends to read these things that isn't fond of swearing, so in order to not make her uncomfortable, I'm just gonna try to limit myself to dagnabbit, mother trucker, and son of a biscuit.

Was it bad that I had wanted to die? I was prepared, fully prepared, I had accepted my fate but now...had my fate not accepted me?

Well, now what was I going to do? Where even was I?

In a cell, apparently. There was stone floor covered in dirt and two stones walls. The other walls were bars, with a space that I knew I couldn't fit through made of a material that would be impossible to break with my bare hands.

I heard a door somewhere creek open, so naturally, I threw myself back into the ground, made my body go limp and evened out my breathing while my eyes were closed.

I heard footsteps stop somewhere in front of me, outside of the cell.

"You're still not awake yet?"

I tried to not hold my breath, my heart pounded in my ears and I was sweating bullets.

I wasn't supposed to be here, I was supposed to be dead, why was I here, why wasn't I dead—

Why wasn't he dead?

"You aren't feigning this again, are you?" I heard the Wind Mage sneer. (Dagnabbit, did the author have something against him or what?) "Come on, now, answer me, boy."

Well, I was caught, I was dead, tell Vio I loved him, tell Ganon he could pick a hell and rot there, because I was dead.

I opened an eye, trying to pretend that I had been asleep, that he was just bothering me.

"So, you were indeed feigning your slumber? Do you not recall what happened last time you lied about something?"

"No...?" I replied in my best "Dude, I just woke up, what's going on, I'm so ignorant," voice.

"I might have hit you harder than I thought."

"Where am I?"

He laughed. Maybe it was wrong to think someone was insane just because if their laugh, but lemme tell ya, if I said he was insane just because if his laugh, I wouldn't be wrong. "I answered that question before; if you wanted to remember the answer you shouldn't have provoked me. I'm going to assume you know why you're here.

"I don't."

I did.

"Oh, really, now, Shadow Link? You don't remember shattering the Dark Mirror? You don't remember throwing away everything you've helped me to achieve? You don't remember deciding that you were going to be worth as much as those useless heroes? Actually, you're worth less than them, honestly. They might have failed their mission, but you didn't even attempt to finish yours."

"You didn't attempt to start yours," I fired back.

And then it hit me.

"Wait, they failed?!"

He smirked. "Disappointed?"

"N-No, you're lying, there's no way they.... that would I mean..."

He laughed again. "If I didn't know any better, if just say you want to be in the winning side."

I scoffed. "No, I chose the right side! Just at the last minute."

"Well, they lost. But, even if they didn't, you would still be stuck in your cell, you'd still have I suffer though your punishment. I'm sure you're aware how serious treachery is."

"With your logic," I said. "I have no way of knowing whether they won or lost. You... can't benefit from letting me know. That's it; they won, I know they did."

"So..." he grinned. "You think I'm lying."

"There's no other explanation—I know you're lying!"

He shook his head and took a step forward. "What if I grabbed the violet hero and dragged him down here? What if I cut his throat and murder him in front of you? Will you still know I'm lying?"

I paled, I know I did. "Don't hurt him!"

"You don't even know it yourself."

"I do know you'd never get your hands dirty," I snapped.

He grinned and turned on his heel, going towards the—

I think the flip not, you son of a biscuit.

"Wait! You can't just—"

I heard the door close.

I tried to take deep breaths, tried to calm down.

Had they actually lost or was Vaati just saying that to bother me?

I shivered and crossed my arms.

I had no way of knowing anything and the mere thought of them losing...

I felt a migraine start to form at my temples. I moved to the corner of my cell and pulled my knees to my chest, wanting to shrink away into nothing.

Just...please...let them have won...