Archive of Our Own

Dread: a state of extreme fear, anxiety, or apprehension about an impending or future event

Legend had felt dread many times in his life, starting from when he was about to awaken the Wind Fish, that meant Koholint would disappear. Then again when Ravio revealed himself to be from Lorule, as the two worlds weren't meant to be connected and they surely had to say goodbye. Luckily, this second time they found a way to keep a passageway and Ravio could move to Hyrule. The third time was totally different and unexpected. When he and his new companion Hyrule met other seven Links, he should have been curious about them, he should have introduced himself like the others were doing, instead he was staring at the shortest of his new group and feeling like he'd faint any moment. The monster he fought as a kid, that looked so smart and so real, was in fact not a monster, but a hero. And he now had to travel with him and act like he didn't know his end, like he didn't kill him. His tunic even had the right colors and he had the same kind of sword his past enemy had used. It was him, no doubt.

Legend had tried to act normal around him, and he was good at it, since the others hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary (or at least, they hadn't brought the topic to him), but some of the most recent events had startled him, especially when Twilight got hit by Dink and during their discussion Four had held the Shadow Crystal and talked about how bad dark magic could be, and then when he came back after the argument with Wild he was radiating light magic and Legend could have sworn he saw the colors of his tunic merging for a second.

However, nothing terrible had happened, and Legend was starting to feel like maybe Hylia wouldn't let Four get doomed during their travel together at least.

The last days had been kind of calm compared to the rest of the adventure. Some bokoblins here and there, a very small dungeon filled with rupees and keeses, and no black lizalfos (or whatever enemy Dink could shapeshift into) in sight. It was getting a bit boring, and the heroes were sure they’d suddenly meet a boss or a lynel anytime now. Instead, they found a lone portal while walking through a small but dense fir tree forest following a river. 

As soon as they passed through, Legend could feel the familiarity of the air, the sky, the grass, and even how birds tweeted at the setting sun. Being the most experienced and exposed to magic, he was the first to get back on his feet and look at the view, and to his pleasant surprise, he realized he was right in his orchard. His bright green grass filled with tiny white flowers, still wet because Ravio had been watering them with meticulous care, that Legend had never been able to give them since his uncle died and he had been too busy with saving the kingdom multiple times. The same treatment was given to his trees, filled with green leaves and inviting large red apples, perfect for a pie or even for display. Once he was sure all the others were awake and ready to go, they walked to the entrance. Another wave of excitement and joy got him when Ravio opened the door, saw him and threw away the tools he was holding just to hug him (luckily Sheerow was there too to catch the items, and nothing was even scratched). 

Ravio told them the land had been peaceful for at least two months. Yes some monsters had been spotted near the mountains but it was really nothing. As such, the heroes decided to spend the night there and meet Fable in the morning to hear about any news. Legend still had to tell the others that Fable was his sister. He’d find a way in the morning. Wild asked him and Ravio to use the kitchen and cooked a great dinner. Time and Twilight were talking about how different this place was compared to their Hyrule, but it still felt like home. Hyrule already knew the place, as he had met Legend there the first day of the adventure. Sky and Four were talking about the tiny birds and how they were still used for traveling, Wind was waiting for dessert time to try the fantastic apples, and Warriors was looking at the quantity of tools and musical instruments hung on the walls. Ravio and Legend set up a room for the heroes for the night and were done right when Wild called everyone for dinner. While eating, the heroes had a lighthearted chat about the latest news Ravio didn’t know, like Legend’s pink hair, Twilight’s wolf form, and how the veteran and traveller had lost and retrieved their magic boomerangs, then prepared for the night.

Legend’s finally peaceful sleep was abruptly interrupted when Fable contacted him telepathically. It was almost a cry for help, though less urgent than her first time. Fable had felt a sudden wave of dark magic that had filled the castle, but no one could identify a source or an enemy. This woke him up instantly and Ravio consequently, as they were in the same room. He asked him to call the others while he ran straight to the castle after putting on his pair of Pegasus boots. Thankfully, no hero is slow when it comes to helping the kingdom, so they reached their destination shortly after, with Ravio guiding them to the entrance.

Both externally and internally, the castle looked totally ok. The heroes began searching, looking for anything suspicious, but found nothing. They could feel the strange energy lingering around and almost following them, but nothing was in sight. The ones with low magic experience were totally lost, but even the more experienced ones, even Legend, couldn’t understand where it was coming from. The castle was explored from the deepest prisons to the highest chambers, gardens included. Fable and Ravio joined them too, and turned out to be surprisingly good with both sensing and using magic. Sky tried to use Fi’s dowsing ability but ended up walking in circles, Twilight tried to track it as a wolf with his sixth sense and his smell, but he practically ended up following the group as they walked in circles with Sky... 

And, outside the castle, life was going on normally. Legend even got to talk with the knights, who, Wind noticed, were a little too formal with him, like he was the ruler. Speaking of, Four noticed how similar Legend and Fable were, both in looks and magic usage. During the search, the two heroes brought the topic to the others when Legend wasn’t listening, and they connected the dots, even considering their telepathy and coordination. At least, this side research made the main search less boring, especially for the heroes who weren’t experienced with magic usage. Wild and Hyrule, at some point, even found a secret room filled with rupees and a message from someone named Chris. Legend found them and confessed that neither he or Fable knew any Chris, maybe he was one of the knights or a very lucky kid who found a cool hiding spot.

Having found nothing, that night the heroes and Ravio decided to stay at the castle and take watches, just to be sure Dink wouldn’t spawn and attack Fable, or Impa, or the knights. After a quick trip home to get the stuff they hadn't brought to the castle before, their bedrolls were taken to the throne room, the largest and most strategic of the castle. Legend insisted that at least Fable and Ravio slept in the comfort of a bedroom, but they both decided that if any Link had to sleep on a bedroll in the throne room, then everyone had to do the same and work equally. Moreover, Fable had some spare blankets and pillows to place on the floor for her and Ravio, they’d be fine and they’d get to spend more time with the heroes. 

All their equipment was positioned in a circle, leaving some space in the center for who was on watch duty.

The candles of the throne room were left lit up and a pair of heroes was randomly chosen for the first watch. Wind and Warriors were discussing how to ask Legend and Fable if their supposition that the two were related somehow was true. They were also eager to find out more about their veteran and Ravio, as the first time Legend had mentioned him, he said he was his “roommate”, and yes they were roommates but… those two were acting like a married couple, as strange as it could seem, since they were talking about Legend. 

Not surprisingly, Ravio, Legend and Fable were sleeping next to each other and next to Four. Warriors had once asked the veteran why he often placed his bedroll next to the smith’s, but the hero had always said it was pure coincidence. Needless to say he didn't believe him.

Shadow had been living within Four’s shadow for a while now. Four could sense his presence and knew he was there, but sadly they couldn't find a way to fully communicate. Shadow couldn't move out of the area of Four’s natural shadow, he communicated using the intensity of the color, but this could only be possible if Four was sitting or standing still in one place, with enough light to cast semi transparent shadows the fifth of the colors could darken to say something in a morse-like code. As such, he couldn't manage to warn Four about their enemy during that day. But he had seen it, he had sensed it.

Wind and Warriors had just finished their watch and were going to wake Twilight and Hyrule up. Their backs were facing Fable. It was perfect for Dark Link, that could silently emerge from her shadow, where it had stayed hidden for the whole day. It thought its idea was wonderful and original. Shapeshifting into nothing but darkness, and hiding in the shadow of the princess. It could kill her effortlessly if it emerged and shapeshifted back into a physical monster, but its target was the heroes. It had managed to study their group coordination and choices, and with surprise it noticed how the Four Sword had an evil being trapped inside. What an opportunity! Dink needed an ally! It could steal the sword, awaken the monster and convince it to collaborate, the easy way or the hard way. 

Yes, even the Master Sword had something extremely evil trapped there, more powerful than Dink itself, but what was in there was only the remaining crumbs of someone that used to be huge and was now far too gone to be awakened. By law of the strongest, even if Dink somehow managed to channel enough energy to awaken it, it would crush the Dark effortlessly. So, it discarded the idea and went for the Four Sword instead, a perfect target.

The Dark couldn’t reach the Four Sword without being seen, though, unless it didn’t shapeshift back to its Lizalfos form and instead stayed a shadow and jumped to the shadow nearest to the sword. So, it proceeded to jump into Four’s shadow.

Dink couldn’t believe its idea wasn’t so original at the end, and even more that another monster could join its army! Finding out the other shadow wasn’t evil, though, was even more unbelievable, but a dark, or a shadow, is still evil deep down, it thought. There had to be a way to convince him. Dink had studied the heroes, and how they were ready to blindly fight anything they’d consider a monster. It could shapeshift into a person and they would attack it because they could sense the dark magic. And Shadow was made of dark magic, so he clearly, for everyone except Four, was evil.

Luckily for Dink, their whole discussion was invisible and inaudible to everyone. 

Shadow couldn’t fight Dark Link like this, but so couldn’t his enemy, they could only communicate. Shadow could keep their conversation going to keep it distracted from attacking the heroes.

Dink’s words, though, began to reach Shadow’s mind and force themselves into his chain of thoughts. Maybe it was because Shadow himself was tired of being unable to properly communicate and this was the first time he had a real chat in ages, maybe it was because Dink was filling Four’s shadow with enough dark magic to make Shadow’s head dizzy and cloudy, but something about its speech wasn’t wrong. Four had never mentioned him to the other heroes, and the reason was that they would question Four’s goodness and intentions, and would probably hate him or try to fight or kill Shadow before Four could even explain why and how he existed. Even Twilight had chosen to keep his wolf form a secret to everybody due to the Shadow Crystal. However, despite using a dark magic tool himself, Twilight had always been one of the first to get into battle to fight a dark being, any dark being. He was especially good at fighting shadows, and had once mentioned that shadows can “consume” light beings. Even Legend was guilty, having hidden his bunny form and the tons of dark items he had inside his house, but then being one of the most experienced in fighting shadows, like he had fought them since he was a kid and multiple times. This thought in particular was confirmed by Dink when it asked him if he knew why Legend tended to always keep an eye on Four or sleep beside him. Shadow had never really questioned it, but he had noticed how Legend was often near them. Dink proceeded to explain that the veteran had killed no other than Four himself, once he, for some reason, had become a shadow in his era. Legend was probably planning on how to kill Four again! Legend was lethal. But even so, defeating him and Twilight wasn’t enough to keep Shadow safe, as even Four was guilty. Four, his companion himself, had seen Twilight’s Shadow Crystal and his reaction had been exaggerated for someone who knew shadows could be good, and he was worried for Twilight even after he had healed, even in the following owl-themed dungeon, where he had said Twilight was playing with fate just because he was using an item made from the shadows. He had said that item could turn him into a bad person even if he was good and pure without it. Moreover, at the beginning of the adventure, Four had referred to their enemy as “the shadow”, in a derogatory way. The truth was that Dink was right, a shadow could only be seen as a disgrace, and those who had dark magic items or forms hid them how they could.

So, what was the point of staying in a shadow, of being only a shadow? 

The Dark's appearance startled everyone. Of course, many were still asleep and woke up more slowly, but Wind, Warriors, Twilight and Hyrule noticed the Lizalfos emerging from Four’s shadow, along with another dark being that was holding his hand and that looked similar to their smith. Four felt an intense shiver and jolted from his bedroll, turning around. The sight left him speechless and so shocked he couldn’t breathe. In the span of too few seconds, Dink had opened a small portal behind Four, and then had emerged with Shadow and sprinted through it, stealing the Four Sword in the process. Four instinctively tried to grab his friend while shouting an angry “no!”, but when he had pronounced the last letter, the portal had already disappeared. It had closed as soon as they had passed through, leaving everyone confused or even stunned thanks to the rough wake up. 

Legend and Fable had woken up with Four and had only seen the silhouettes disappearing as the portal closed. Legend's first instinct was to comfort his friend and help him breathe, while Fable got him some water and a towel as he was sweating cold. Four clearly wasn’t just shocked by Dink’s appearance, his face showed betrayal. The others began looking for any other monster or portal nearby, in the castle grounds and garden, leaving Fable, Legend and Ravio, who had just woken up, with Four.

Slowly, the veteran realized how Four was lacking a dark magic component he had always had around him, that nobody had noticed as it was always there. Like a constant but quiet background noise, that’s recognized only once it’s gone, Legend realized Four had been traveling with an entity made of dark magic. A dark, or a shadow. And he was absolutely fine with that. Confident. He trusted that entity. 

Of course, Legend thought. He trusted a shadow! At home or camp he lowered his guard even with a shadow living with him. That had to be linked to his future, his nonexistent future. The shadow could have waited for the best moment to finally get him. The shadow could have studied Four, and maybe even the others, maybe even him! That’s why that corrupted Four was so good at copying his tactics back then. He hadn’t noticed how cold his gestures had become, how his body had almost frozen, and how he was feeling dreadful again. Ravio had to take his place and was now sitting between Four and him, Four leaned on his right side and Legend on his left. The merchant was gently side-hugging them, concerned for both. Legend had once told him what happened during his first adventure, and how that quartet of monsters looked like real but corrupted Hylians that didn’t want to fight given their facial expressions, especially the red one that had even tried to stop its own attacks, but failed. At the end the monsters had reunited into one and had told him “thanks, Legend” with a genuine smile before disappearing, and back then he had questioned the strange nickname. Four was really similar to the monster described by his partner, but he was hylian. He was still hylian.

Legend was back to his usual self before Four. He knew his friend could split, he had known since the beginning, and he had got to know how that had helped him get through his feelings before, when he was worried for Twilight. He wanted to suggest he split again, but he remembered that Dink had stolen the Four Sword. Maybe he could talk to each color through him, maybe he could ask him how each color felt? He thanked Ravio for his help and patience, and asked him to give them a moment. Ravio went to help Fable with the bedrolls and blankets still on the floor. But when Legend met Four’s gaze and was about to speak, Four stopped him, saying he didn’t want to talk to him only, but to everyone. He had things to explain. 

He stood up and told him he wanted to see the sunrise first. He wanted to stay in the light. His face showed a mix of anger, resignation and grief, but he still managed to smile and was somehow calm. Legend understood that Four’s colors were all feeling the same, not fighting like last time. Splitting was useless.

Shadow felt amazing. He was full again. He had a body he could freely move. He had hands! He could talk! He hadn’t forgotten how to walk! Dink’s dark magic was almost as strong as the dark mirror, and as long as it was near him and willing to sustain him with magic, Shadow could live without anyone’s shadow. 

The Dark left him some time to get comfortable in his body again while it checked where its portal had brought them. Dink had only programmed the portal to send them to a dark world or area, it had no time to think of a specific place or era. And of course, it had no idea of where they were, but it was an old dungeon made of stone, so it was fine. After some minutes, Dink called its new ally for their next task: awakening the monster inside the Four Sword. And Shadow was perfect for the job, because he knew Vaati and the sword well.

As the two examined the sword with the golden hilt and a strange jewel that changed color depending on the light reflection, the Dark noticed how, while it had been forged with perfect accuracy and care, and with the help of four elemental stones, making it a magical sword, it had nothing to do with the Blade of Evil’s Bane. It could seal enemies inside but its stability was weaker than the Master Sword, and, in fact, the light magic generated and emanated by the Four Sword was only enough to balance the dark magic coming from the being inside and add a seal. A work a lone hylian shouldn’t have been able to accomplish anyway, without a doubt, but still, Dark Link was sure that its and Shadow’s work combined could free Vaati. Shadow knew how Four used the sword and how he held it differently for normal use or magic use. Especially for splitting, he held it in a particular way, with both hands, and twisted them around the grip to make the jewel shine. So, they channeled their energy towards the hilt with the colorful jewel, where the magic was stored. 

The procedure didn’t last too long. They were fully concentrated and using all of their power. Inside, Vaati recognized some evil forces were trying to rescue him and tried to use their dark magic as a lever to his own power. After what looked like an eternity to Shadow, but was actually about an hour, Vaati was free, feeling reinvigorated and, of course, vengeful. 

As soon as he got out of captivity, Vaati saw Shadow and instinctively threw himself at him. Technically he wasn’t wrong, Shadow was the reason he had lost against Four the second time, when that brat had decided to become the fifth hero and break the Dark mirror, making Vaati lose his power in the span of seconds. Shadow had sacrificed his magic and hylian form in the process, but there he was now, physical and complete. Dark Link quickly stopped the attack and threatened to seal Vaati back in the Four Sword if he didn’t cooperate. The ex-minish looked at the clearly superior monster, that now looked like an iron knuckle, and realized he had to submit. Since Shadow was on Dink’s side too, for the second time Vaati couldn’t do anything against him.

Shadow knew Vaati would try to attack him once freed. It was only logical. However, he also knew that another hand was needed to defeat the heroes and that they were all on the same side, and mostly, they both were on the same boat. Dink was keeping them alive, and they couldn’t, for their sake, afford to disagree with it or each other, fight each other, or waste the Dark’s precious magic for their own problems and needs. They had a mission to complete. So he didn’t react at all and let Dink handle him. When the three were all calm and ready to discuss, the Dark asked Shadow if he had any idea on how to proceed. Shadow began thinking about the weaknesses of the heroes, the possible places they’d hate fighting in, and also the newly created trio’s own flaws. 

The view from the castle’s front balcony was amazing, accompanied by a fresh morning breeze and the tweets of the birds. Four could see Legend’s house and orchard and, in the distance, what looked like a town, a lake, a desert and some old ruins with a temple. He was bathed in sunlight, hoping to feel it all and better than before, trying to find the bright side of the situation, literally. Maybe without Shadow he could use more light magic and better. He was even trying to convince himself that he felt lighter, even if shadows don't have a weight. He only got a small relief, though.

Ravio had happened to hear the heroes making hypotheses about Legend’s relationships. Now that the others were outside, he could ask his partner about how he intended to address those topics. Four had a secret to reveal, they could help him getting more comfortable by revealing their own. The heroes had already guessed right, so it shouldn't be a shocking truth. Before doing anything, Ravio asked Legend if Four was really the monster he fought as a kid. Legend, without saying a word, turned his head to face Ravio. His expression left no space for ambiguity. If they were totally alone or with Fable only, Legend would have thrown himself into Ravio’s arms and let himself cry. But there were too many people around, the heroes included. Speaking of, they’d better call them so Four could explain his situation. Legend, as he was used to doing, put on a neutral, distant and almost sarcastic face and went out to call the others, leaving his partner and sister concerned about what he was really feeling.

The rancher was the first to speak, asking why Four looked like he knew that shadow. Everyone was now sitting in a circle, with Legend, Fable and Ravio near Four, obviously. They gave the impression that they were already familiar with the topic but lacking details, and Ravio was holding Legend’s hand like he knew the talk would give even him a hard time.

Four was nervous, clutching the hem of his tunic in his hands, his head bowed. He was mustering all the strength he had to get the courage to talk about Shadow. But he went on. He explained that yes, he knew Shadow. He thought he knew him well. He described his adventure and how Shadow had helped him at the end sacrificing his own freedom and body to help him and defeat Vaati, who was giving Four a really hard time. Now everyone also knew about his ability to split. 

Along with the current era’s trio, Wild looked like he already knew it. The others began questioning how he knew, and Four explained the discussion they had at the inn. 

Legend didn’t even try to act surprised. He would be a fool if he thought the others hadn’t noticed how he, Ravio and Fable were gravitating around him.

Next, Sky asked him why he didn't tell them about him. Four's gaze was now fixed on Twilight. Everyone understood. Four added that having Shadow with him allowed him to sense dark magic better than before as he had to distinguish an external source, like a monster's, from his own. And with this new power he had quickly realized, at the beginning of the adventure, that everyone was sitting on secrets related to dark magic or dark tools. At first, Four feared that his companions wouldn't accept him for having Shadow with him. Then, when he finally felt safe in the group, he couldn't gather the strength to talk and reveal he had been hiding a secret this huge for so long.

Lastly, the captain asked him if he had ever questioned Shadow’s loyalty. Wars looked like he had been through something extremely similar. Four immediately shouted “NO!”, almost jumping to his feet from where he was sitting. Fable side-hugged him telling him to relax, they weren’t going to scold or punish him in any way. Wars explained how some members of his own army had betrayed him and the whole Hyrulean forces at some point, without any notice or sign. He had to fight and kill people he had spent the training camp with, people he once called friends. So he could understand Four’s current struggles, and he wasn’t to blame for anything.

Four asked everyone how could he even think about betrayal when Shadow sacrificed everything to save the kingdom, he was ready to give his own life to defeat Vaati. It was illogical.

Legend looked at Time. The veteran's neutral facade had dropped, and since this had happened only a couple of times in their whole adventure, Time couldn’t say he wasn’t startled by his face. Legend asked him how he’d manage a situation in which he knew the future outcome but there were no signs in the present. For example with Ingo, Time knew his true colors but when he came back in time he wasn’t giving any signs of megalomania or sympathy for Ganondorf. Time, now even more confused by the question, told him that he had let Malon know about his whole adventure and together they had decided to fire Ingo from their ranch. Talon had been a bit disappointed at first but later they had all realized how often Ingo’s statements were clearly digs they hadn’t caught up with. But then Time asked Legend the reasons for the specific question. At first, the veteran told him it was for nothing in particular, but as he said that his hand was squeezing Ravio’s so hard that it hurt him, so the merchant let go of his hand and gestured to him to lean on his side instead.

Now they really wanted an answer. And Legend was about to speak, Four needed to know. But he found himself hyperventilating. Fable took his brother’s place and explained that during his first adventure he had to fight four enemies that, as he had told her, looked and acted like real people, even if clearly corrupted by dark magic or shadows, and probably Legend was reminded of that battle with the discourse about Shadow and the fact Four could split. It had really been traumatizing for him. Fable avoided saying that the four monsters looked exactly like Four and that they even mentioned his nickname at the end.

Sky stood up and walked to Legend, kneeling down to meet his eyes. With the kindest tone he had, he asked him if he thought the monsters were linked to Four. Legend nodded. Four was listening and staring at him, his eyes widened. Was the monster really him or Shadow? Now that they were divided and Shadow had his own body, he could easily copy him. Or worse, with the power of the Four Sword used in the wrong hands, Shadow could defeat him, seal him into the sword, or even corrupt him. That monster might be him. Could Shadow have really gone that far?

Time, Twilight, Warriors, Wild, Hyrule, Wind and Sky went silent, realizing the implications of the story. Nobody was to blame. But the news was still shocking, to say the least. How did Legend act like he was ok that whole time? Seeing Four every day and reviving the trauma must have been hard. Now everyone understood why Legend had slept near Four and tried to shield him if he could. He wanted to protect him from becoming that shadow. The room went silent, annoyingly silent.

Ravio was the first to try to switch to a more lighthearted topic. He stood up and pointed a finger at Wind, telling him he had listened to their theories. The heroes’ heads and long ears all got slightly up and at the merchant's direction. Fable stood up too and said that at that point either the people of Hyrule were blind or they were so terrified to ask that they kept their mouths shut. They both took their looks from their father after all, and age differences couldn’t hide it, as they were born not even an hour apart. They noticed how everyone was at least slightly engaged in the conversation, so Ravio, using the same tone as Fable, added that after their adventure he either hated his own home to the point he escaped from his world, or loved Legend to the point he moved to his house… and he surely didn't hate his home. A general “oooh” could be heard. Legend, who had managed to start breathing normally again, hid his face in his hands, his face as red as his tunic. A few faint but genuine smiles could be seen on the heroes' faces. Out of everyone, Legend was the last one they’d imagine being a member of the royal family AND having a romantic partner, before that day!

Then Hyrule drew the others’ attention to the fact their tunics and boots really needed some mending and washing. His attempt at giving the heroes a distraction worked quite well too.

As any sign of dark magic was now gone from the castle and nobody had reported any suspicious monster or any portal appearing, for the rest of the day the heroes tried to have some rest. They even got their clothes washed until they looked brand new, with Legend, Ravio and Wild lending them their spare ones in the meantime. Time asked Legend how he had a Kokiri tunic in his era, and Legend pretended to not know. Wind desperately asked him if he could give him the jacket that looked really similar to Linebeck’s one, and the veteran couldn’t resist Wind’s big eyes and accepted. Wars couldn’t help but laugh when he saw some of the funny clothes, but Legend told him that if he continued he’d put him in the postman’s suit. For reasons unknown to the others, the captain looked terrified by the idea, like he had already tried it on and knew how embarrassing it was. 

Teaming up with his biggest enemy was hard for Shadow. Even if they were collaborating, Vaati couldn’t stand him and he couldn't stand Vaati, and they couldn’t decide on how, when and where to act. Dink didn't seem bothered by the constant digs, as probably that was normal for evil beings, while Shadow was used to sincere and direct communication, not that he could do anything different as a shadow, since his pseudo morse code was way slower than words, but still, he had heard how Four talked with his grandpa, Dot, and the heroes, and they respected each other. 

After almost a day on the bad side, he found out he missed the sincerity and friendliness of the light dwellers. He could never have deep conversations nor share lighthearted moments with the darks. Moreover, Shadow thought, Vaati was once a minish with aspirations and will to learn, but his thirst for power led him to what he was now. As a minish he “only” turned his mentor Ezlo into a talking hat, but once he used his magic to turn into his new and current form he lost any remaining trace of empathy he had. No more curses, but death to his enemies. 

Four was right about him, he was beyond help. He didn't want to defeat the heroes to live peacefully, he wanted to annihilate them for the sake of it. And everyone who put obstacles in his way, himself included, could be his next target. 

He had almost died to help Four, to defeat Vaati. And he had done it because he felt in line with the hero's cause, the four colors were full beings, driven by future goals and desire for peace. Vaati was only driven by hatred and nothing else. At some point during that adventure, to hide his lack of future perspectives, the monster had given Shadow a talk similar to Dink's. Shadow realized that surely even Dink didn't really believe its words, as it was a soulless monster created and programmed to kill the heroes and that was its goal, not only a necessary step towards a bigger and meaningful objective. Shadow was different, he had a soul, and he didn’t want to live just to destroy everything. He probably needed to cause some harm to be free, but then? If Dink didn’t want to experience life but just to be a death machine, after defeating the heroes what would it make Shadow do? It surely wouldn’t leave him alone, it would kill him once he isn’t useful anymore, or make him fight something or someone else. Shadow didn’t want that. 

Four wasn’t perfect, but he had protected him. If he wanted Shadow gone, Four could have used his sword against him. They had shared the joy of their victory and had celebrated how they could. Their interactions were not transactional, and they had shared stories, jokes and good laughs even with their difficult communication. Shadow just wanted to experience those same things better, in his body. 

He had been stupid. Looking back, he didn’t even know why he had agreed to go with no other than Dink in the first place. Probably the Dark hadn't just filled Four’s shadow with dark magic, but also with a spell. Shadow’s mind wasn’t foggy only because of pure dark magic, maybe Dink had been actively weakening his conscience. Its initial talk was not totally wrong but it was full of inconsistencies. Four had never mentioned him to the others because they might have fought some shadow beings and got indelible memories and traumas, the topic was to be handled with caution. Twilight had hidden his wolf form because Wild had shown an exaggerated reaction when he saw him. The rancher had attributed that to being a wolf, while really the champion had recognized an old companion and had realized that his wolf wasn’t just a wolf. Nothing to do with dark magic or shadows. And his crystal had been created by an evil being and Four could probably feel that and was concerned. Legend’s bunny form reminded the veteran of what and who he had lost, even by his hands, and of a world created by the enemy. 

Yes the heroes still had flaws, they still attacked shadows. But probably Four was the only one who got to meet a good one. Maybe the others were totally unaware of the possibility. Four should have made Shadow’s presence known way earlier, but still, they were all simply hylians, not perfect gods. Well, he thought, one of them kind of emanated demi-god vibes, like someone that had killed a god. Impossible, right?

Shadow was now thinking straight again. He felt like himself, his real self, and wanted to get back, even if that would mean being a shadow again. But he couldn't just leave or try to fight them. Dink was keeping him alive and could kill him with a snap of fingers if it wanted. But Shadow had already experienced this dynamic with Vio. “Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer”, he had said. He needed to play along but make decisions that would help the heroes, making sure Dink and Vaati would think those would favor the evil trio instead. 

Dink had noticed Shadow had been kind of frozen in his thoughts for some minutes now, and asked him, in a sarcastic tone, if he had decided to take a vacation from their important work. Shadow quickly answered that he had an idea and he had thought about how to make it work. Now he could show them what he had in mind. First, they needed to attack as soon as possible because the heroes had less time to prepare for another battle. Shadow knew that the heroes were already trained and prepared for any battle, and that the more they waited the more Dink and Vaati could become stronger. Moreover, he really wanted to free himself from them. Then, Shadow told them they’d better choose an era known to the evil trio. Dink was more familiar with Time’s Hyrule because it had already been there, but Shadow and Vaati knew Four’s place extremely well and they could move better. Of course, Shadow’s real reason was that even Four knew his home well and knew how him and Vaati had acted in those places, so Shadow could easily replicate everything he did the moment he decided to betray Vaati during their last adventure and Four would understand. Shadow did also know how to move swiftly in his homeland, perhaps he could use that to his advantage. The last suggestion was that they split and attack a group each, so if everyone was busy with an enemy they wouldn’t be able to help the others. This move in particular was a bet for Shadow, who hoped to meet Four during their (fake) fight and merge back into his shadow, freeing himself from his dependence on Dink. 

Shadow hoped he had been convincing enough. Fortunately, his “teammates” had believed in his false advice, because they underestimated the heroes enough to not realize that those measures would help them more than the villains. Dink quickly opened a portal to Four’s Hyrule, to the Palace of Winds to be precise, and opened another one for the heroes to the same location. The Dark chuckled with a voice that could never be hylian. Shadow looked at his hands, knowing he wouldn’t see them or the rest of his body another time, and walked through the portal along with the two villains.

During the evening, Legend had shown Four his collection of swords, so the smith could pick one until he got his Four Sword back. The options were Legend’s first sword, given by his uncle, or the sword he had to return to his Hyrule's captain but ended up using for the first part of his Lorulean adventure, or lastly the Noble Sword he got in Labrynna exchanging a wooden one for it. Four had just picked the Noble Sword to try it when a portal opened right outside Legend’s house, at the end of the short stone path, streaming in through the windows and bathing the house in purple light. Both the heroes’ hearts shrunk knowing what that meant, and the others quickly turned their heads in their direction, but they had to go with courage like they always had. Legend looked at Ravio and Fable, who had stayed with them the whole day, and let them hug him tightly. Everyone waved them goodbye and then crossed the portal.

When the heroes were gone, Ravio and Fable finally let themselves cry for the heaviness of the situation, and for Four’s terrible fate. Legend lived in the future compared to Four’s time, and no action from the heroes could change an already written future, if not by creating alternate timelines that don’t delete the current one. They had learnt it when the heroes had traveled to their era for the first time and they had seen Time. He kind of looked like the fallen hero from their history books, but he couldn’t be since he was in his thirties while the fallen hero had died young… Then they had discovered the existence of more timelines and it all made sense, but they couldn’t risk the same thing again, or worse they couldn’t create a new timeline pretending their original one had ceased to exist.

Four had guessed they'd end up in his era, but the Palace of Winds was unexpected. The Palace had collapsed but the room they were in was still intact, at least for another bit. It was a terrible choice for the enemies, knowing the outcome of their last encounter. He didn't have time to think, though. Shadow was there and Four was furious. The smith quickly ran towards his enemy but when he had to raise his sword, his arm didn’t move. He couldn’t attack him. Shadow was running towards him too and they were only an inch apart when two swords appeared in front of him, forming an “X”. Legend and Sky had placed their swords and then themselves between them, creating a barrier. Their swords, their Master Swords, were too much for Shadow to cross without being disintegrated by holy power. 

In the meantime, the other six heroes had divided into two groups as Dink and Vaati had moved to different sides of the area. Vaati attacked Wild, Wars and Time while Dink went for Twilight, Wind and Hyrule. Strangely, Shadow had a simple sword and left the Four Sword to Dink, who had turned into a Stalfos, and was trying to hit Twilight in that same spot from last time. Luckily, this time Twilight knew better than to get too close. At that point, the trio was just avoiding getting hit and keeping the Dark busy until the others were done with their enemies. Vaati was attacking with his windwhirls and taking up the majority of the space, but Time had his iron boots and heavy armor on, Wars could move fast enough to dodge every vortex, and Wild could use his arrows to attack from a safe distance, as well as his technically unlimited remote bombs, but only as a last resource as the room could collapse. As Dink had noticed its chosen group of heroes wasn’t landing any blows but just defending themselves, it enhanced Vaati’s power, but the heroes were strong enough to stand up to him.

Shadow didn’t want to hurt Sky and Legend or any other hero, that’s why he chose a simple sword, but he needed to get to Four, to go into his shadow and be finally free from that power. He was desperate and he thought his facial expression showed it well, but the heroes thought it was all a facade and kept attacking, while he was just dodging their swords. Four wasn’t attacking but was deeply concentrated on not letting Shadow near him. Even if he wanted to, Shadow couldn’t just stand there and wait, or he would either get slashed by one of the Master Swords or get killed on the spot by Dink, that had kept an eye on him since the beginning to be sure he hadn’t changed sides again. But Shadow remembered how Vio had acted that time with Green. Vio had attacked but with the pommel of the sword, not the blade, and Green was only slightly bruised! At the same time, Red, Blue and Green had understood that Vio was just following a strategy and not actually on the bad side. Shadow began attacking using very light blows that didn't do anything to the heroes, if not some superficial scratches that didn't even need a potion. However, his opponents were so furious and determined to annihilate him that they missed the sign and didn't use soft blows like him. Defense was hard when he couldn’t even parry, and a single successful hit could turn him into nothing but smoke.

Dink had understood its three heroes were just keeping it busy, they wouldn’t attack any time soon. It could join Vaati or Shadow. When it turned around to see the situation, it noticed how Shadow seemed to be having a hard time, but…

Four had finally let go of his emotions and was now analyzing the scenario to join the other heroes against Shadow. In the span of seconds, Four had noticed how Shadow was moving exactly like him, like Vio, and was struggling against the Master Swords. The smith tried to shout at the two heroes to stop, but once he lowered his guard just for a moment, he found himself on the ground, with his head hurting, a cut on his left hip and his blood splattered around him. The others were screaming but he couldn’t process anything.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Dink and Vaati holding the Four Sword together. Its blade was red from both his blood and the union of Dink’s and Vaati’s dark magic, which the sword was full of, far exceeding its light magic.

The heroes reunited in one group. Hyrule quickly went to check on Four while the other seven heroes circled them for protection. The traveler already knew that the situation was tragic. Twilight had almost died by Dink’s hand only. Now it was two monsters channeling their powers together. And the wound was worse, bigger, and Four was smaller both in height and build compared to Twilight. Hyrule was going to try everything again, but he already knew their smith had no chance. For real this time. Of course, a fairy didn’t work and a potion only healed the wound, not the curse inside.

The seven remaining heroes were filled with a rage never seen before. Twilight’s expression reflected that of a beast, Time was so furious his wounded eye was open and glowing, Sky’s rage felt like electricity and Fi seemed to be electrically charged too. Wind’s expression made him look older, Wars had concentrated his magic and was almost glowing, Wild had taken out some strange blue arrows, and Legend was radiating with magic and his face showed pure rage but his wet eyes showed a deep pain everyone knew. If anything or anyone touched them that moment, they’d slash them without a thought.

The dark trio moved around and started attacking again. Shadow was still trying to find a way to merge back into his shadow. Now Four was on the ground, still, and its shadow was easier to reach, but he needed an opening. 

In a fortunate turn of events, Dink and Vaati found themselves close and the heroes turned to face them. A small opening was left on the other side of their protection circle, and Shadow quickly passed through it, finally merging back into Four’s shadow. Hyrule had tried to block him but had quickly noticed that Shadow was unharmed, his weapon left on the ground before sprinting through the gap. 

Dink hadn’t noticed he had merged back yet, so Shadow still had its power, and used it to tell Hyrule he was on the good side and he was sorry for everything, his expression showed no sign of lying.

As soon as he finished talking, Dink noticed Shadow’s betrayal and quickly took its magic away from him. But Shadow was already with Four, and the only effect was that he went back to his shadow-only form. He would miss his body. But it was ok.

Now seven heroes were against two enemies. Their strategy was to defeat Vaati and attack Dink from a distance. Wild and Sky were perfect for the latter, because Sky’s Skyward Strike was successful against the Dark and Wild could shoot three arrows at once. Time and Wind decided to join them for defense but also be a support to both groups. That left Legend, Twilight and Wars fighting Vaati. 

Legend saw Vaati’s new attack strategy and realized one particular movement could be vulnerable to a downthrust. He froze for a moment. The downthrust was one of the few techniques he had refused to learn for a specific reason: it was the favorite move of the four monsters from that palace, and also, obviously, Four’s favorite sword attack. Luckily for him, Twilight and Warriors had noticed the opening there too and had prepared a strategy. Suddenly, Hyrule called him to switch places, as he had the Jump spell and could perform a highly efficient and destructive downthrust. Legend didn’t need to be told twice, they immediately switched places. Legend could see Four’s shadow getting darker and lighter.

Dink hated the Master Sword. It could shapeshift into any monster and use any shield, but the Skyward Strike could go through everything made of dark magic. However, it could dodge it, even if it meant taking a few hits from Wild’s arrows. The Dark had already infused the Four Sword with its magic and used it to split the blade into four, and had turned into a Stallmaster, more powerful than a Stalfos but swifter and lighter than an Iron Knuckle, and with four long usable arms. That way, it could attack without the risk of the room collapsing. But it also kept shapeshifting back into the Stalfos and other enemies to confuse the heroes. However, they were fast at dodging its attacks too, and it couldn’t quite understand how they managed that. Its main strength was unpredictability due to the shapeshifting ability, but this time they could guess its next attack with extreme precision. How? Why? It must have been the Four Sword, that still emanated light magic along with the Dark’s. The Master Sword could sense it, and with the dowsing the heroes could know exactly where Dink’s hands were even in the shapeshifting process when it looked like nothing but smoke. 

To remove this inconvenience, Dink simply threw away the Four Sword, that landed near Vaati. Warriors ran there before their enemy and quickly grabbed the sword, throwing it to Hyrule, who caught it on the flight right before using his Jump spell to launch himself over Vaati, performing a downthrust with two swords together, something he had never done before. In the meantime DInk, after remaining without a weapon, quickly shapeshifted into his Lizalfos form to be faster and ran towards the sword left on the ground by Shadow, but three arrows on its back slowed it and a Skyward Strike hit it square on, cutting its tail a second time. As its black blood dripped from its tail it knew it was losing strength and needed to recover before another fight, so it retreated, launching itself off the palace as a keese, and disappearing so quickly the heroes couldn’t follow it or shoot it with the bows. Vaati couldn’t resist Hyrule’s final blow, because DInk, retreating, had taken its power off him and he was now counting on his power alone. As Vaati collapsed, the seven heroes circled him and with the Four Sword they sealed the enemy back in his designed prison.

The very small celebration the heroes were having was interrupted by Legend’s utterly terrified call for help, his voice low and shaking. Dreadful. Four’s skin had become pale when he had been hit, and the potion had cured his physical wound so he had regained his color, but now he was slowly turning gray. He was breathing and his heart was beating, but Legend couldn’t wake him up and could feel the dark magic building up in him. Like with Twilight, it was burning inside and spreading. And he couldn’t help, he was useless. Hyrule quickly got on his knees and held Four to use his life spell on him just to earn some more time. They needed to try something, anything. It felt impossible but they couldn’t abandon a brother who was still alive. Moreover, they needed to leave the Palace quickly.

They looked at their options, discarding all of them. Fairies didn’t work, a Great Fairy wasn’t there and they didn’t know where it was, potions had only healed his physical wound. They needed to reach a safe place, possibly a town, to let Hyrule try his life spell multiple times like with Twilight. But Twilight wasn’t turning gray, while Four… They knew a town might be too distant, they might not make it. Legend’s vision was beginning to fade. If they ended up losing Four, they’d have to tell his Zelda, Dot, the sad news and…

“Dot!” Wind shouted. Like a sudden revelation, the heroes remembered Four had mentioned it was his Hyrule. And Dot was known to have the “Light Force” as Four had once told them! Hopefully Dot could help them. They just needed to reach her fast. Sky ran out of the building to get a view of the land and noticed they were over the clouds. He could still see the remains of the cloud barrier and some floating islands with a bigger one in the distance. A small smile appeared on his face. If Four’s era was next his one in timeline, then the land would still be filled with Sun’s light magic, or “Light Force”, and Dot might really be able to help!

From their position, the Realm of the Heavens was right above his Sealed Temple. He had seen that in Time’s Hyrule the Castle was near the Temple of Time, which replaced the Sealed Temple, home of the Master Sword. If he launched from the tower, he’d land near the castle. Since his Sailcloth could resist the weight of him and Groose combined, going down with Four wasn’t going to be a problem.

Sky went back inside and told the heroes his plan. Six heroes agreed with him and supported the idea. Without losing a second, Sky picked Four up in his arms and let the others secure him to his bust with any cloth or belt they had, and Sky and Four were off. Only after they were gone, the other heroes turned around and discussed how to bring Legend down too. His mind couldn’t handle all that. Potions only healed physical wounds, but Legend’s body had given up to the trauma, tension and dread of his mind. Wild could get him down with his paraglider, it was slower than the sailcloth but it was ok for Legend, he didn’t need urgent help. Wild was set up with Legend like Sky with Four, and they descended to the land. Wind handed Hyrule his Deku Leaf so he could follow them and use his spell, but the traveler announced he had his own ways of getting down. He ran outside the Palace and in an instant he disappeared between a magical pink cloud, and when the cloud dissolved he was a fairy. He proceeded to fly down as fast as he could. Wind decided to stay with the remaining three heroes to find a way to get down safely. They noticed a tower nearby, it was partially collapsed but maybe they could still use it to get down. They could reach it with their clawshots after a path that was floating on the clouds. Luckily, at least Twilight and Wars were used to cities in the sky and didn’t find it weird.

Sky and Four landed in HyruleTown, where people knew Four. Some looked at the Chosen Hero with anger, as if he was responsible for their hero’s current state, but he didn’t care. Other inhabitants reached to help. He asked the way to the castle to meet Zelda, and a couple of people guided them to the entrance, running. As soon as they got there, Dot let out a cry at the sight of Four and at the state he was in. Her father, king Daltus, came running too, and let out another cry. Dot examined Four’s condition while Sky explained the situation, and her face didn’t leave much hope. Wild, with the unconscious Legend, and then Hyrule reached them mid talk and Hyrule told her he was a healer and could help, he had handled a similar situation before. 

Dot slowly shook her head as to say no, and looked at him. A vassal was sent to Smith’s house to warn him and bring him to the castle, in case he needed to say his final goodbyes.

There wasn’t much to be done, the dark magic inside him was too much for her to handle, Zelda would have had to extract it, but her light magic wasn’t enough alone. Moreover, she needed a vessel to put the extracted dark magic, and no Hylian could be the vessel, or they’d end up in Four’s condition. Even if they had enough light magic and something or someone capable of holding that much dark magic, they had to act right away, as his body was already starting to lose the battle against that power. Hyrule couldn’t understand why the situation had become so critical. With Twilight he had cured him alone. With Four they were losing him so quickly. Wild reminded him that with Twilight the wound was smaller and made by Dink only while now it was Dink and Vaati, that Dink surely hadn’t perfected its strategy the first time but now it had, and moreover Twilight was used to dark magic, not only bringing a friend made of dark magic with him, like he had done with Midna during his adventure, but shapeshifting, his body could manage and dissolve dark magic by itself, Four’s couldn’t. 

The heroes couldn’t give up. Sky unsheathed the Master Sword and positioned himself near Dot to support her with Fi’s power. Hyrule had his life spell and also the Four Sword he had used before. Wild took the liberty of looking through Legend’s bag to search for light Magic items and found his protection and light rings and some star fragments, along with his Master sword. Wild himself had some star fragments along with some dragon scales. He was giving her even items they guessed would help but weren’t confirmed light tools. Dot began the extraction procedure to save every second they had, but they still needed the vessel. The heroes were tasked to find one in record time. Wild gave Sky all the tools he had found and was about to leave the room when Hyrule told him he might have an idea. The traveler looked down at Four’s shadow, and asked Shadow to make them know if he was still there. Four’s shadow got darker and then lighter, like if it was flashing, a sign he was there and safe. Hyrule asked him if he could be the vessel, he had to flash one time to say yes and two or more to say no. Four’s life depended on that answer, the entrance of the castle was beginning to get darker due to the uncontained dark magic, even if Dot had only just started the procedure. Shadow darkened the shadow exactly one time. He was made of that magic and getting more would only help him. He was perfect for the job. Hyrule quickly shouted, at the top of his lungs to make sure he wouldn’t have to repeat himself, that Shadow had accepted to be the vessel. Dot had to channel the extracted dark magic to Four’s shadow, so the heroes positioned the small hero at an angle that made his shadow long enough to let her work comfortably. She wasn’t sure they’d succeed, it was the first time she had to use all her power plus magical items, but they had to try.

In the meantime, Time, Twilight, Warriors and Wind arrived at the castle. Wild explained the current situation, and the fact that even Legend didn’t wake up yet. Time suggested to let him rest, they’d wake him up once Four was safe. Or once he was gone, depending on the outcome of the difficult magical procedure. The four heroes looked in their own bags and took out every light magic item they had, like the others had done earlier. Time and Warriors joined Dot, Hyrule and Sky as they were experienced with magic usage. The light magic items were divided among themselves. With their magic, they were enhancing Dot’s power, while Hyrule was using his life spell on Four to make the dark magic spread more slowly, making the princess earn some more time. The heroes prayed it was enough. Four’s Grandpa Smith met them at the entrance, he was shaking. Wind instinctively hugged him, imagining how his grandma would have felt in the same situation.

The fact they couldn’t do more than what they were already doing was unbearable. The other heroes had experienced it when Twilight was dying, and the rancher himself had always felt that lingering fear of losing Time during their adventure. The postman scared him. A new letter from Malon could be the news of her discovering of being pregnant, and that would mean Time was no longer protected by the timeline, by Twilight’s existence. Wild had gone to the kitchen to prepare new potions, this time for both Hyrule and Dot. He managed to hand one to the princess right when she was about to faint for the magic usage.

Legend was in the Palace of the Four Sword. Only that this time, he was an adult. He didn’t know how and why he had ended there, but he was alone. He had his tools, but some were missing, his bag had been opened by someone. The entrance was closed, so he had to continue. Maybe he’d find his lost tools in there. He had already defeated the monster, it couldn’t have been reborn. So maybe it was Dink hiding there? The heroes hadn’t defeated it, it had escaped. 

He explored the first path, and found his uncle. Was it Blind the Thief again? No, this time it was just a hologram, a distraction to waste his time. The hologram kept telling him his death wasn’t his fault. He turned around and went back to the main room to explore the second path. Great, he thought, now it’s a vision of Marin. He quickly turned around and walked away, before he could hear her words. He was too experienced to fall into those traps. 

The third path led to Ravio. Here, Legend couldn’t hide his fear. The first two visions were of dead people. Ravio was alive and well, right? That Ravio himself told him he wasn’t dead and not even a hologram, he was there because he had a message for him. He wasn’t to blame for all his past experiences, he didn’t have any other option. He needed to continue his adventures, knowing that even if the worst happened to someone close to him he had to be strong and live. At the end, he told him they’d meet at home. Legend walked through the fourth path more slowly. Why was Ravio there? Why didn’t he follow him to the main room and why hadn't that thought crossed his mind before? He wanted to get back but he was already at the end of the path, so he proceeded. Fable was there, with another message for him. She told him he had to stop hiding his emotions, he had felt the need to bottle everything up in the past but now he had people who cared and who wanted to be there. Legend asked her how she was there and why, but his sister just told him it was time to open the fifth door and see it for himself.

At the end of the last path, Legend saw him in the distance. Four. His heart started beating faster. Four wasn’t in the same position as the others, who were standing at the center of their areas. He was at the farther corner of the room, with his back facing him. Legend didn’t even know if he was corrupted or not, as he was in a dark area of the room. As soon as he had fully entered the room, Four turned to face him and started calling his nickname, Legend, sounding worried. It reminded him of the first time he met him in that palace. 

He couldn’t do that again.

That Four continued calling his nickname.

He was getting closer, running towards him.

In no time, he had grabbed his shoulders and was shaking him and shouting his nickname so loud that he

woke up.

As he opened his eyes, he noticed some of the heroes looking at him worried. Four…

Four had been shaking him for longer than they had expected. Legend jolted from his bed and instinctively, immediately, hugged him. He was ok. Somehow, he was alive. He couldn’t stop the tears forming in his eyes, but who cares, Ravio and Fable were right, even in a dream. 

Time brought him a towel, and Legend noticed how his eye was red. He had been crying too. When Dot had finally announced she had made it, everyone had cried of relief.

He looked around and noticed they were in a room with a sofa and a table with two stools other than the bed he was on. He saw Hyrule sleeping on the sofa, and smiled in acknowledgement. Wars told him Dot had lost consciousness right when Four woke up, and was now sleeping in her bedroom. They'd meet later. 

The smith asked him to sit on the bed as he was feeling tired, he was still recovering. Legend jumped off the bed and left him all the space he needed. 

As Four was getting comfortable there, Legend noticed how his shadow was moving in an inconsistent way given the windows and the sunlight. Was Shadow with them again? Was Four unsafe? He looked at Four with wide eyes, and his friend smiled, telling him what Shadow was really trying to do during their battle. So, he was really on the good side. He had been manipulated into going with Dink, but had betrayed it at the end. Legend let out a sigh of relief. But he knew Shadow couldn't move out of the smith's natural shadow, how was he moving? Four told him to ask Shadow directly, before closing his eyes for his much needed rest. 

The others looked like they already knew. Legend was staring at Four’s shadow when it changed shape, looking like a black painting of a person, of Shadow, and signed.

“Hello, Legend”. 

The hero couldn’t believe it. It was incredible, and a wonderful surprise. Shadow could use his arms, show his face, and communicate through signs! No more morse, he could be one of them. Legend looked at the bracelet Ravio gave him. Shadow kind of reminded him how he felt as a bidimensional painting. He gave him a genuine smile.

Sky explained how Dot and Hyrule had extracted the dark magic from Four’s body and had used Shadow as the vessel. Since he was made of that magic, it enhanced his power, giving him more freedom. In the end, the whole experience had gone in the best possible way. Four was recovering, Shadow was on their side and could finally fully communicate with them, and Legend didn’t have to experience Four’s monstrous transformation during their adventure. 

He went outside to see the sunset. Another sunset. Legend realized that was exactly the fourth day they had spent since Dink had brought them to his era to carry out its plan. Time reached him outside. It was the night of the Fourth Day, he had only ever counted up to the Dawn of the Fourth. Four’s era looked really amazing, bright and alive.

Everyone heard Wild calling them for dinner. He had begged the chefs to let him cook with them to celebrate, and they couldn’t resist. Hyrule, Four and Dot woke up to celebrate with everyone. Funny stories and laughs filled the room, along with some occasional requests for another slice of pie. Four was sitting between Dot and his grandpa Smith, who was hugging him tight like he'd run away if he ever let go. Four, smiling, told everyone had accepted his fate for that evening.

The end.