Chapter Text
In the quiet of night, darkness swallowed Hyrule, lighted by nothing by the gentle glow of the moon. Under her guidance and protection, the forest blinked awake.
Perched upon the branches of their trees, little eyes watched the only hero awake, though his head bobbed steadily. His boots stood nearby, feet inched close to where flames had once warmed them.
In the trees, they pressed close together, trembling with nerves. They reached for him, needing him, daring to trek further than they’ve ever gone before. The fog stretched from the trees, guided by little hands, shimmering blue and thin like millions of fireflies twinkling in stream. It extended to the hero, struggling to reach past the barrier blocking it from reality.
“Mister…”
His pointed ear twitched in their direction, a stew of familiar recognition flaring in his mind, stealing away his hesitancy and caution. His half-lidded eyes fixed on the distance, blue as the calm seas with hair to match its sunny day. He heard them.
“Please, we need you…”
His fingers fluttered at his sides, curling into the dry dirt of the forest, feeling it close within him. He stood wordlessly, feet bare, his eyes unmoving from the distance. His friends remained sleeping, undisturbed, just as intended.
“Please…” their voices called to him, singing in his ears like lullabies. “Please come. Please.”
Link turned in their direction, his eyes half-lidded and trace-like, lacking the familiar light that came with wakefulness. They were transfixed upon the stretching fog, the depiction of a hand in his mind— from theirs to his.
The Champion stepped forward, his foot crushing in the ash and embers of the fire carelessly, smearing grey and black between his toes.
“Please…”
He was coming, moving towards the fog with arms swinging limply at his sides. No light lingered behind his gaze, his body trudging of its own volition.
“Please. We need you.”
The Champion ghosted through the smoky barrier separating them from danger, the cloud wrapping him in a tight embrace.
They could feel him now, as close as if they were within him. He was apart of them now.
The spirit of the forest flooded him, inhaled deeply through his nostrils, shooting down passages to flood his lungs.
They felt him as one.
Within him now, they felt the whirring of his pumped blood, slow and mechanical, the gentle swoosh of his sleeping heart.
Within him, all resided.
Within him, they would find safety once again.
“Thank you…”
Only a few inches into the safety of the barrier, the Champion stopped. He tipped his face up to the canopy above, connected now to the gazes above. Then, his eyes rolled back like massive waves crashing on shore, and he succumbed.