Chapter Text
Neco slammed her hand into the wall. “Motherfucker. Of course they’d find me!” She cursed herself as she paced inside of the cave. It was an underwater cave which she had made into a living space. She could reach it through her power to move through the shadows, sadly, the Sage of Water could easily reach her as well.
The Secret Stone wielder paced inside her cave, the walls painted with murals. “That knight cannot change my mind, the princess has to go! She caused his death for Hylia’s sake! Why is he so loyal to her?” Neco wondered before pausing.
“Why not to me? We are blood!” She screamed, echoing in the cave. “Or not. That “hero” is not my brother, he’s just another person in my way.” Neco told herself, ignoring the flickering of shadows. Her fingers traced the X scar on her eyes. “The researcher has to go too, she brought this to work. And the Sheikah leader, her too! Aren’t they sisters? Hope so, then they’ll have it easier if both die.”
Neco continued pacing, the shadows moving around her feet like water. “They all do! They all caused me pain!” She screamed again, shadows crawling up the walls like snakes. “That Gerudo girl will kill me if she sees me. That Rito’s too naïve and so is that Goron. The Zora is the Champion’s brother, they’ll be the same. If I let myself fail, I’ll just be hurt again.” She told herself, ignoring her own spiraling.
“I always get hurt by other’s ruling and decisions.”
Neco sat down on the bed she had made over a century ago on the ground. “So I cannot let anyone else decide anything for me, my fate, my life, my choices, they all have to be decisions I make myself. I will not lose that control. Not again.” She told herself as she leaned back.
Her golden eyes traveled from the murals on the wall to the chest in the further corner. Neco flicked her wrist and the chest was swallowed up by the shadows and brought to her. She sat on her knees, opening it.
Inside lay the Champion’s Weapons.
Neco grinned gleefully before closing the chest. “Who cares if they can track me, I have eyes everywhere.” She said, glancing back. In the corner, there were empty puppets of birds. They were not actually real birds of course, they were made from the shadows, illusions with golden eyes. Neco’s eyes when she could not see, the ones that watched the Sages run around trying to track her down.
Neco’s grin dropped after a moment and the chest was moved back as she leaned back. She had no one and while Neco liked peace and quiet, she had to admit she was lonely. Any people she spoke with were illusions.
Neco’s powers were very mixed too. Illusions, shadow manipulation, teleportation through the shadows, shapeshifting and so on. Neco was pretty sure her powers were very night and moon, as well as star based. It seemed like it anyway, which she didn’t mind. Neco always liked the night more than day, it was just more peaceful. It was also more…home. She was so used to darkness, it felt like home more than day.
All of Neco felt glum, even her name. In some ancient language called Latin, it was a verb for kill, murder, or destroy.
How fun.
It was all Neco felt nowadays. Anger, sadness, and rage. It was the only emotion she ever felt, it was painful to have that as her own source of feelings. Neco wasn’t even sure what to do after she killed the princess, as that was her only goal in life currently. She had nothing and no one to stay alive for.
Even if she won, Neco wasn’t sure she’d live either way. Killing the princess was her only goal.
So what was she supposed to do when that goal was completed?
It was another reason why Neco kept adding people to her kill list even for the vaguest reasons, to have something to keep going for. That had made her start to spiral over the past five years, which was how long had passed since she woke up from her coma.
Neco sighed, hand rising to trace her Secret Stone, which sat securely in a leather strap on her arm. Neco’s other hand traced her scars before she loosened the strap and let the stone and leather belt fall to the floor.
The world faded into complete darkness as Neco sighed and leaned her head against the wall. She knew her eyes didn’t move to look around, as they had nothing to see. It was how Neco lived for three years before she found the Secret Stone on the day of her fourteenth birthday. It called to her, even in the dark, when she wandered in the woods after leaving her small birthday party, not having the strength to stay.
It was the only light that sometimes appeared in her sight. It was magical. It gave her sight. She could not lose it. Neco would go insane if she did and that was a fact. She’d rather die than lose her sight again.
It was just a fact.
Neco felt the darkness creep in and as if there were people there, which made her grab the stone and hold it tightly in her hand as her vision glowed golden before she could see.
See that nothing had changed inside the cave and that Neco was yet again paranoid.
Of course, figures.
Neco felt angered and placed the stone back where it sat on her arm. Then she sat in silence, listening to the water inside the underground lake, which also led to the ocean outside and the way out of the cave, moving against the rock.
Her hand traced the outlines of the carvings on her Secret Stone as it glowed comfortingly. It was a light that appeared in her vision, even when blind. It was teh only source of light in Neco’s life, literally. Neco looked around the cave, the murals, the chest and the dummies made of wheat and fabric.
This was how she’d been living for five years.
Neco was not sure how many more she could take of this lifestyle.
And the way out of it was one.
Kill the Princess of Hyrule.