Chapter Text
When Zelda tried to use her newly unlocked power to seal away Ganon, the whole world seemed to fill with the golden light. She’d heard a terrible screech, and then...nothing. Everything was dark, everything was quiet. After a few moments, she began to wonder if she’d died, but after discovering she could move, decided that might not be the case. Unable to see a thing in the darkness, Zelda moved slowly, carefully, feeling around for any obstacles. But there was nothing; no walls, no doors...there didn’t even seem to be a floor. After a while, she began to walk more freely, no longer concerned about running into anything. And she never did; but she never got anywhere either.
Wherever she was, it did not seem to have an end. After a long while—days, months, years, or more, she couldn’t be sure—Zelda sat down on the vast plane of nothingness. Confusion and curiosity soon gave way to boredom. Was this to be her fate then? Trapped in this endless expanse for the rest of time? It wouldn’t be so distressing if she knew this had indeed kept someone in Hyrule safe, but at this point, she just didn’t know. Did it even work?
“What…do...you…fight…for?”
Zelda nearly jumped at the sudden voice that seemed to echo throughout the area. It was deep and terrifying, yet...it sounded almost pained, like every word was a struggle. Getting to her feet, she looked around frantically, trying to get a glimpse of the source. But even if it was right in front of her, she wouldn't have been able to see it.
“W-what?” she managed at last. The voice answered with a guttural growl. She couldn't place how, but she could tell it was an impatient one too. Perhaps it wanted her to answer..
“I...I fight for Hyrule, obviously. I fight to protect my people, as is my duty.”
Laughter filled her ears, an eerie one filled with a malicious sort of mirth. It sent a shiver up her spine, but at the same time, made her fists curl up in frustration.
“What’s so funny?” she spat, more venom in her tone than she intended. But the booming laugh continued on as if it hadn’t heard her at all. What was this thing? She’d wandered around for ages without running into anything. Could it be a person trapped here alongside her? She reached out into the darkness again, but felt the same nothingness she had since coming here. The laughter continued, crashing around her like thunder as she felt her temper rising. How dare this thing take her declaration as a joke?!
“Who are you?!” she demanded. The laughter did not abate, but an answer appeared before her all the same. A blinding flash of orange lit up the darkness, making Zelda squint. After acclimating a moment or two, she realized what it was: an eye. Or more accurately, the iris of an otherwise black eye, save a few dull strings of purple around what must have been the lids. She’d seen this eye before; others like it sprouted out of the malice that had consumed the castle, the malice that had been consuming all of Hyrule. Did that mean this was…
“...Calamity Ganon?” Her voice was hushed now, barely audible over the continued laughter around her. It took a moment for the shock to wear off, but once it did, she felt a new surge of hope rise within her; if Ganon was here, that means he wasn’t in Hyrule, right? So she’d succeeded!
At least to some degree.
Now that she knew who was laughing at her, she felt her anger rise again. She folded her arms in contempt. She still wasn’t sure whether she was trapped in this strange space with Ganon or if Ganon was what she was trapped in, but either way, he had no right to be laughing at her .
“Well,” she continued, raising her voice to be heard over that horrible sound, “I don’t know why you find my answer so funny. It’s certainly a better answer than you have, I’m sure.” All at once, the laughter finally stopped. Had she offended him? Good . Still...as the eerie silence hung in the air, she began to wonder why. Surely he understood that fighting to destroy Hyrule was a vastly inferior motivation than trying to save Hyrule, right? Then again...destroying Hyrule wasn’t really a motivation, was it? It was more of an end goal than anything. But then what was his motivation? She’d never really thought about it before. Perhaps being a force of evil was enough but...was there more to it? Zelda sighed. Clearly Ganon had some reason if he was so affected by her accusation. It wouldn't hurt to ask.
“Well? Are you going to pout about it, or are you going to tell me what exactly it is you fight for?”
Dark purple smoke began to gather in front of her, becoming a thick mist in seconds, and then clearing to reveal...a Sheikah research lab. At least, she assumed that’s what it was based on what she’d seen before. Two Sheikah stood talking with each other, a man and a woman, neither of which she recognized. The man looked absolutely livid.
“It’s ridiculous!” he shouted. “Our clan has been serving the royal family for generations , and they still don’t trust us?” The woman looked uncomfortable, uncertain.
“Yes, but the king says this technology is dangerous, there is no longer a need—”
“Of course it’s dangerous!” he cut in. “That’s what we do! You think this war is the only time we’ve helped protect the royal family? Our clan has always carried out the less pleasant tasks of this regime, silencing dissenters, doing whatever it takes to protect this kingdom and its people.”
“But there must be a reason…” the woman insisted, though she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself now.
“Of course there is a reason,” he scoffed. “Our technology has grown to the point that the common person can do what only trained magic users could do before. That is what scares them—the idea of a population that isn’t totally dependent on them. The idea of subjects he needs to earn respect from!”
Suddenly, a silence fell between the two Sheikah. The rising tension and anger in the room was palpable, so much so that Zeldaactually felt it spike in intensity when the woman’s expression finally shifted to match the man’s.
“You’re right.”
“I think,” the man said bitterly, “we were on the wrong side of this war.”
“They don’t even care about us,” the woman added. “All that talk about researching anti-aging technology to benefit the elderly, healing technology...it was all a lie! They just wanted it to keep their soldiers ready to fight! And now that there is no fight…”
“They only see it as a threat,” the man finished. “Well, if they insist on treating us like a threat, perhaps that’s what we should be.”
The scene faded into a dark purple mist, quickly swallowed up by the void around them again. At first, Zelda was puzzled by what she saw; why was Ganon showing her this? And more importantly, what exactly had she just witnessed? Well...thinking back to her historical studies, she did know that the Sheikah tribe split thousands of years ago after Calamity Ganon was last sealed away. At the request of the king of Hyrule, many Sheikah gave up their technology and settled on a simpler, peaceful life in Kakariko village. But some were not happy with this. Those were the ones that formed the Yiga clan, swearing their allegiance to Ganon instead. Was this the beginnings of that? She’d always been taught that the Yiga Clan was made up of traitors, but this…this made it seem like…
“You are the heir to a throne of nothing.”
Zelda looked up, startled by her father’s voice. She’d been so lost in thought, she had no idea when he appeared, but there he was...standing before her outside her study just as he had the last time she saw him. The words stung now just as much as they had then, even if she knew he had only been quoting rumors from the castle.
It wasn’t something he truly believed himself. Right?
Zelda closed her eyes and frowned. Her father had said it was her destiny to prove them wrong, but that’s not what she saw in his eyes. There was sadness there...disappointment. All she’d ever wanted was to help, to be accepted for what she could do instead of reprimanded for what she could not. But he was right, wasn’t he? Even now that she’d unlocked the sealing power, even now that she’d sort of succeeded, who was she helping? There was no one left to help.
Well, almost no one.
The was one last sliver of hope that kept her going: Link . Her knight had fallen in battle, but his sword had spoken to her and told her there was still hope in saving him. She’d done all she could to ensure he had a chance to come back, ordering her guards to bring him to the shrine of resurrection. She had no idea how long it would take...or if it would work at all. But it’s all she had left. Zelda took a deep breath, opening her eyes again to look upon an empty void once more.
“So…” she replied at last, “you fight...for the Yiga?”