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Izuku dropped his sword, practically collapsing to his knees in front of the fire. Around him was the ravaged remains of the bokoblin camp he had just destroyed. He snatched the half-cooked flank of meat off the fire pit, tearing into it ravenously—it had been a long day.
All his days had been long since he woke up though. Ever since he awoke to that voice in the strange chamber on the plateau, he had had a hard time sleeping. He often found himself awake and active at odd times, too wired to sleep despite how desperately tired he would get.
Currently, he was roaming around the land; trying to find out where he was, who he was, and how he could do what the voices in his head were asking him to do. Generally he avoided civilizations, interested in the people he met but uncomfortable staying around others for too long. Izuku preferred to be out on his own, exploring, foraging, and inevitably fighting the monsters he came into contact with.
He didn't like the violence, but it did get easier every time. After all, when it was a matter of gaining more supplies and food, Izuku found the gumption to do it. Thankfully, he was innovative with weapons, forgotten muscle memory having saved him numerous times despite his lack of experience.
After he had gorged himself on the food he found in the bokoblin camp, Izuku gathered some old pelts he found laying around it, setting them out beside the fire and collapsing down on them. He closed heavy eyes, prepared for another restless night.
It didn't seem like it was very long before his skin prickled in warning, hairs raising on the back of his neck. Izuku sat up and looked around, brows furrowed at the glowing red and black flecks swirling through the night air. They gave him the same the instinctual feeling he got whenever he encountered the strange masses of rot caused by the calamity.
He watched as the malice filled the campsite, getting thicker and thicker as red began to bathe everything around him. He looked up, eyes widening at the sight of a full, blood red moon shining in the night sky, blocking out any of the warmth from the stars.
Izuku.....
He flinched as one of the voices suddenly echoed in his head—the voice he was told belonged to his mother.
Izuku....sweetie, be careful. The Great Calamity's power peaks with the rise of the blood moon......under its unnatural glow, all the monsters slain in the name of the light return to life. Be careful...
Izuku jumped to his feet as the red and black flecks of malice coalesced in multiple places throughout the campsite, condensing and dispersing to reveal the forms of all the bokoblins Izuku had just killed hours before.
They came back armed and angry.
Izuku didn't feel like that was very fair.
The nearest one screeched at the sight of him, immediately lunging forward with its spear, and Izuku barely managed to dodge out of the way, taken off guard. The first attack sparked the others into action, and he made the quick decision to retreat, tired and unprepared for another fight.
He turned and fled, not having the time to pick up the weapons and supplies he had gathered. He ran without looking back, highly aware of the shrieks of his pursuers right behind him.
Thankfully, they gave up after a while, unwilling to stray too far out of the territory of their camp. Izuku continued to keep running though, eventually stumbling to a stop as he reached the edge of the woods, leaning against a rocky cliffside and heaving for breath.
He shivered in the cool night air, sinking down on the hard ground and wrapping his dirty, torn cloak around himself as he huddled against the rocks. Izuku buried his face in his knees and prayed for the morning to come swiftly.
But once again, the presence of malice from the Great Calamity pervaded his senses, and Izuku's head shot up in alarm.
A great black mass was moving in between the trees, coming ever closer.
Izuku trembled, highly aware of his lack of weapons or even proper clothes.
The darkness paused at the edge of the woods, floating this way and that, before drifting out into the open; a horrible mass of red and black fog.
"Little Birdy had to flee the nest...."
The other voice Izuku was used to hearing in his head sounded throughout the small clearing, emanating from the malice, making his eyes go impossibly wide.
The fog swirled upwards, molding into a humanoid form, and Izuku watched with bated breath as arms and legs emerged from the darkness, the mist drifting away to reveal a human face.
The malice took the vague form of a man, with regal features and wild white hair. His (its?) eyes had no pupils or sclera, just a solid, glowing red—the sickening shade of the Great Calamity. Pale skin shone in contrast to the dark mist that cloaked his entire figure, making his outline flicker like black fire.
Izuku forced himself up on shaky legs, prepared to bolt at any given moment, held in place only by the familiarity of the voice the figure had used.
The man(?) circled him slowly, getting closer with each lap around Izuku, who spun on his heel to stay facing the creature as he moved. The figure seemed to float more than he walked, eyes fixed on Izuku, a smile playing at his face that felt more threatening than friendly.
"What's the matter, Little Birdy? Having a rough night?" the being spoke teasingly. Izuku found himself having to look up more and more as he got closer, the creature standing well over seven feet tall—which was more than a little intimidating.
Despite the ability to talk, and the humanoid form, this creature felt more dangerous than any of the monsters Izuku had encountered so far. Still, a burning curiosity to know about this being who sounded like the voice in his head kept him in place. "...Who are you?" he asked quietly, voice rough from disuse.
"You can call me Hisashi," the creature offered.
A non-answer. Izuku frowned. "WHAT are you?"
"A friend," the creature replied.
Izuku frowned harder, backing up instinctively when the creature got too close. "...Is it you who has been speaking in my head?"
The creature smiled, looking amused. "Yes."
Why couldn't it give more useful information? Izuku didn't want to have to keep asking questions, he disliked talking, he wasn't used to it. "Do we know each other?"
"I know you, Izuku, though you do not remember me."
Izuku had been told that the woman's voice he heard was his mother. If the other voice was his mother, was this voice his...?
But he couldn't be, could he? This...was he a monster? Was he a man? He didn't seem to be hylian, so there was no way he could be Izuku's father...right?
Izuku...didn't know what to say. If he had been good at conversation before he died, he certainly wasn't now. "What do you want?"
"Simply to see you." The being—Hisashi—moved forward again, and too late Izuku realized he had been trapped back against the cliffside. He pressed himself into it, feeling the sharp texture of the rock face digging into his back. Large, almost translucently pale hands reached for him, cupping his face. They were cold, and Izuku shivered at the icy touch as his head was held still, the creature looking down at him silently for a long while.
Hisashi stepped back, seemingly satisfied, and looked up at the blood moon. "The night is still young, Little Birdy, are you going to move on?"
Izuku shook his head mutely; he just wanted to rest, he was so exhausted.
"Come now, there are much nicer places than this to stay. You don't plan to sleep on rocks all night do you?"
In fact he had, but he didn't care to tell Hisashi that.
"Follow me, Little Birdy." Hisashi drifted away, back towards the woods, where he stopped at the tree line and turned to Izuku.
Izuku hesitantly followed, dragging his tired feet. He didn't want to go anywhere, but Hisashi's voice had provided him with advice many times before, and Izuku was curious to see what he wanted.
He followed Hisashi silently as he was led through the woods, the creature having to pause and wait a few times as Izuku fumbled his way around under the red-tinted moonlight.
It felt like forever to his aching body before Hisashi stopped, and Izuku looked around tiredly. A half-collapsed shelter sat in a small circle of trees; a ripped pack and a few old, somewhat rusty, weapons lay scattered around. The small camp was clearly abandon, whoever constructed it having either fled or met an unhappy ending.
Izuku eyed Hisashi warily as he edged around the creature, flopping himself down upon an old bedroll beneath the shelter. He sighed contentedly despite the less than appealing circumstances, glad just to have a soft place to rest his head. He pulled the ratty blanket close to himself, cold without the warmth of a fire, but too tired to try and start one with the loss of his flint and the possibility of monsters roaming nearby.
A cold hand landing in his hair jolted him from his rest, and Izuku tensed, glancing over his shoulder. Hisashi's shadowy form was knelt at his back, dark tendrils of malice dancing off him and caressing against Izuku almost affectionately. Hisashi pet his hair, the chill of his skin making Izuku shiver.
"My apologies, Little Bird," the creature murmured. "Let me warm you up."
Darkness engulfed him as his body was dragged into Hisashi's lap. The darkness felt warm, a strange contrast to the creature's cold hands. He squirmed in protest, skin prickling with discomfort at being touched—something he wasn't used to anymore.
"Shhh," the creature soothed, enfolding Izuku in the robes of shadow he wore, wrapping him up until Izuku's body stopped shivering.
Izuku wriggled and pressed against Hisashi's chest, trying to push himself away. But his body was too weak to escape, Hisashi hushing all of his whines and grunts of complaint.
"We don't have long together like this, Little Bird. Let's enjoy each other's company. You always have such a hard time sleeping these days, let me ease your mind into rest." Hisashi brushed wild hair out of Izuku's face, his green curls long and unkempt.
Izuku didn't respond, his throat closed up and unwilling to speak any further than he had tonight. He pulled his cloak over his head, hiding his face from the creature. But Hisashi didn't seem to mind, only chuckling and humming softly as he cradled Izuku in his lap. "Sleep, my little one."
Izuku shuddered but let his head fall on Hisashi's shoulder. He was warm, and resting against something comfortable. He wasn't able to stop his body's instinctive relaxing, sleep beckoning him enticingly. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to close his eyes for just a few moments...
Izuku scrambled across the open, grassy plain, running in a desperate zigzag pattern to try and make himself less of an easy target.
How stupid he was to forget.
When the red glow of the blood moon had first shone in the sky, Izuku had stopped to stare. Forgetting how it had returned monsters to life the last time he had seen it.
Lynel territory was a terrible place to forget such a thing.
The beast had risen back to life not far from Izuku, stronger than before. He had heard the angry bellow it had released before a sharp pain exploded in his side, the lynel having wasted no time skewering him with an arrow.
Now he was racing away as fast as he could manage with his wound, the open plains giving him no cover from the lynel's rage. But if he could make it out of it's territory, he'd be safe.
A thunk next to him had Izuku swerving away, an arrow having imbedded itself in the ground far too near to him. He was slowing down, blood loss and the pain in his side hindering him from escaping.
Fly quickly, Little Bird. Spread your wings.
Hisashi's voice echoed in his head, and it took Izuku a moment to understand what the voice was saying to him. But once he did, he paused, crouching down and focusing.
He felt for the gift he had been granted by one of the old champions, given to him by their spirit as thanks for freeing them from the control of the Great Calamity. Once he grasped onto the power he needed, Izuku jumped, twin explosions bursting from his palms and propelling him high into the air.
At the peak of his jump, Izuku snapped out his paraglider, flying out of the lynel's territory much faster and easier than he had running.
His landing was less than smooth, but no one was around to witness it.
At least, that's what he had assumed. But a slow round of clapping had him back on high alert, hand automatically reaching for his sword.
Out from behind a boulder came Hisashi. He looked taller than Izuku remembered, malice wisping off his form. "Has ever there been a day so far you don't get into trouble?" the creature asked, floating towards Izuku.
Izuku glared but didn't respond, legs collapsing under him as he lifted his shirt to get a better look at the arrow that had pierced though his abdomen.
Part of the shaft had snapped off, but the head was still embedded in his flesh a few inches deep. At least it was far off to his side, below his rib cage. It missed hitting anything important.
But damn it was going to suck to remove.
Izuku wiped sweat from his brow, panting. A glance around showed him he was relatively safe to take care of the wound right there. If he was lucky, he'd have a potion or two left and he wouldn't have to worry about it at all.
...A quick search revealed that he was not lucky, and that he'd have to take care of his injury the old fashioned way.
Cold fingers brushed against the arrow shaft, and Izuku let out a choked gasp at the jolt of pain that went through him. He smacked Hisashi's hand away, cradling his side defensively.
Hisashi was staring down at him curiously, gaze focused on the wound Izuku was attempting to cover. "So fragile..." the creature murmured.
Izuku shuffled a foot away, resuming his search for any supplies that might help him. But all he really had on him was his canteen of water.
He sighed and removed his cloak, resigned to cutting it into strips to use as makeshift bandages. Hopefully it would hold long enough he could find a stable nearby, and purchase some real supplies, or even potions.
Izuku grimaced as he pulled his shirt off, shoving it in his mouth to muffle any noise he might make as he grasped onto the arrow shaft. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily, mentally counting down. 'Three...two...'
The arrow was unexpectedly yanked from his side.
Izuku shrieked into the fabric in his mouth, involuntary tears leaking from his eyes. He looked up through watery eyes to where Hisashi was examining the arrow in his hand intently.
As irritated as Izuku was that the creature had just done that to him, he was quick to move on. Grabbing his canteen with shaking hands, he splashed water over the bloody injury, trying to clean it out as best he could.
"You're just wasting your water doing it like that, Little Birdy." A cold hand against his chest pushed Izuku flat on his back; the canteen stolen out of his grip. Only for water to be poured directly into the puncture wound left behind by the arrow, Izuku's abdomen twitching and heaving with his cries of pain.
"Quiet, Little Bird," Hisashi scolded, not unkindly. "You've had worse."
'Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell though,' Izuku thought angrily.
He was pulled back into a sitting position, Hisashi holding the makeshift bandages of his old cloak with distaste. "Really? What was the point of cleaning it if you're just going to bind it with this? These are filthy."
Izuku snatched them from the creature's hand, winding them around his abdomen carefully. Dirty they may be, but they were all he had right now. He also didn't remember asking for Hisashi's opinion, nor his assistance. He spat his shirt out of his mouth, pulling it over his head and gathering his things back into his pack.
"Where to, Little Bird?" Hisashi asked, hands hovering out as if to catch Izuku should he fall as he stood up on wobbly legs.
Izuku wordlessly pointed to the west, where a very faint trail of smoke could be seen floating up under the red moonlight. It was possibly a stable. Or it could be a bokoblin camp. Or it could be other hylian travellers. Either way, there would likely be some sort of supplies—or at least food—at the source of the smoke.
Hisashi followed behind him like a shadow the whole time, commenting idly on whatever came across his mind. Izuku allowed the familiar voice to wash over him as he limped forward, his body naturally trying to compensate for his injured side.
Something about Hisashi still made the hair on his arms rise, but the creature had never acted aggressively towards him.
He just couldn't understand. Why did he hear Hisashi's voice in his head, when the creature appeared to be made of the Great Calamity's malice? Why would something foul be talking to him? Helping him? Offering advice and reassurance on the nights Izuku wanted so desperately to give up?
As they crested a hill, Izuku found his breath taken away by the sight of Hyrule Castle to the north. He hadn't realized just how close he had come to it—closer than he had ever seen it before.
Under the light of the blood moon, the castle looked even more intimidating. Large tendrils of glowing, dark corruption crept up the sides of the castle like an octorok's tentacles, writhing and growing. The entire castle was shrouded in a haze of red malice, the very atmosphere looking like it would be poisonous to breathe.
"Charming, isn't it?" Hisashi spoke next to him. "The Calamity grows stronger with each passing day. Your mother weakens under his power, Izuku. You must hurry if you want to save Hyrule."
"...I want to save her," Izuku whispered.
"Pardon?" Hisashi bent down from his great height. Izuku's voice rarely went above a quiet murmur these days.
"I don't...saving Hyrule. I don't...I just want to save her. See her."
Hisashi raised a brow. "You don't care about Hyrule then?"
Izuku shook his head. "I do care. Just...Mom." He gestured towards the castle, trying to get his point across in a way he couldn't with words.
"Ah. You just want to see your mother?" Hisashi nodded to himself. "Of course. Nothing wrong with that. A young boy like yourself would naturally miss his parents."
Parents? Hisashi said parents. Did that mean...? "Father?" Izuku asked hopefully.
"Yes?" Hisashi had both brows raised now as he cocked his head to the side.
Izuku searched the creature's face, unsure how to voice what he wanted to ask. Did this mean Hisashi was his father? Or did Hisashi know his father? He did have a father, didn't he?
At Izuku's silence Hisashi straightened up, lightly pushing on Izuku's back. "Come along now, Little Birdy. We are a ways off from our destination yet."
Izuku glanced at the castle one more time as they moved on. And for a moment, he was sure he saw a faint, pure light shining from one of the towers.