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Gray clouds poured down buckets and buckets of rain upon central Hyrule, and upon the lone figure trudging up the mountain path on the Great Plateau.
Link’s armor felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds, and he shivered from the cold, the rain, and the sheer exhaustion.
He’d been traveling all night and into the early morning. He still hadn’t recovered from a particularly bad fight with some blue Lizalfos near Zora’s Domain.
Why am I here?
He had no idea what had drawn him back to the Great Plateau.
At the top of the path, he came to a stop.
Before him was the entrance to the Shrine of Resurrection.
It was just a small cave mouth in the side of the mountain, easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. Not like the dark gray granite mounds with their blue and orange traceries scattered all around Hyrule.
How long has it been?
It had only been a few weeks since he left the shrine.
But it felt like an eternity.
Link stepped into the cave, intending just to step out of the rain for a little while.
Instead, he found himself slowly heading deeper and deeper into the darkness of the tomb-like shrine.
Link took one step down, and then another, and then another.
The anteroom, with its empty, abandoned treasure chests and shattered crates, smelled of rock and damp earth and dust.
The glow of the Sheikah slate terminal cast a faint orange glow over one corner of the chamber.
As he looked around the room, Link was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. He swayed on his feet before falling to the floor with a bone-rattling thud.
He lay there, stunned, his emotions whirling inside him.
They’re all gone.
Link’s eyes burned as a lump rose in his throat.
Everyone he knew was dead and gone, except for she who held the line inside the ruins of Hyrule Castle.
And now here he was in a strange new world: a kingdom full of strangers.
So much loss. So much suffering.
Some distant ancestral echo in his head spoke to numerous battles with Ganon since time immemorial.
Why? Why did Hylia and the goddesses choose HIM to be the hero? Why did the burden of saving the kingdom always fall on his shoulders?
I can’t do it. I can’t.
He pushed himself upright on his elbow. Before him was the door to the inner healing chamber where he had awoken.
If only. If only he could just lie back down and sleep for another century.
Slowly crawling on his hands and knees, Link made his way back into the healing chamber. There was the stone healing bed, minus its eerie blue glow.
Link unbuckled his sword, shield, bow, and quiver and set them aside. Hoisting himself over the side of the healing bed, he curled up in a ball on its floor and closed his eyes.
“If it’s a nap you wanted, you have a perfectly decent bed back in Hateno Village,” a sarcastic voice said. “Or enough rupees to pay for one of the fancy beds at an inn.”
“Shut up, Revali,” Link blurted out automatically as his eyes opened.
He frowned. Where had Revali’s voice come from?
He glanced around the chamber, but there was no sign of the Rito champion’s spirit.
Lying back down, he stared up at the ceiling.
“Link…”
There was Zelda’s voice.
“Please, Link, you mustn’t give up, not now…”
Zelda, I’m sorry. I can’t do it. I’m not the hero you need.
“But look how far you’ve come. You’ve done so much. For the kingdom. For the Champions. And for me.”
Other voices began to speak, and he now realized that they were coming from somewhere inside him.
“The life of a great warrior is never an easy one. We fight many battles, and not just with swords and shields. And the wounds to the spirit are often worse than the wounds to the body.”
Urbosa.
“We’re always here for you, Link, and we’ll help you any way we can.”
Mipha.
“You can do it, little guy! Gotta take care of yourself, though. Even us Gorons need time to put the rock back in our roll.”
Daruk.
The voices went silent.
Link lay there for a moment more, then slowly pushed himself upright.
That was when he saw a little cloud of dancing petals hovering just over him. That’s odd, he thought. Don’t remember seeing those before.
He reached up to touch the cloud…
POP!
A Korok appeared out of thin air.
“Ya-ha-ha! You found me!"
Link stared at the Korok, dumbfounded. Then he let out a small laugh: the first he’d had in quite a long time.
Getting up, still wincing from the various aches and pains, he gathered his gear and slowly made his way out of the shrine.
Outside, the rain had stopped, and the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds. A slight breeze carried with it the smells of damp earth, wet grass, and mountain flowers.
Link was still physically exhausted, but his weary spirits started to feel the first sprouts of a new determination.
“Good. You’re up. Now fast-travel yourself up to Death Mountain and soak your puny wingless carcass in one of the hot springs,” Revali’s voice said.
Taking out the Sheikah slate, Link selected one of the blue shrines on the map, and felt himself dissolve into the familiar whoosh of blue vapor.
I will go on.