The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga: Side Stories
By Queenie Z

Trial of the Great Floodlands

He found himself standing in the middle of a vast and empty field; a place of silence and stillness enshrouded by the thick mists of time. The air was cold, causing his breath to fog and his hair to stand on end, and he could sense the familiar aura that enveloped the area - a distinct mixture of both peace and melancholy. Eventually, he spotted the unmistakable rooftops of Hyrule Castle out of the corner of his eye, and he allowed himself to smile somewhat sadly at the sight.

Indeed, the Hero of Time was no stranger to this place, nor to the idea of visiting it in his sleep. This was not the first time he had seen this realm, this limbo between the world of the living and paradise where he had spent many of his days as a phantom, appear in his dreams since he had moved on. It served as a reminder of a time of great loneliness and despair, a time he preferred not to dwell upon during his hard-earned rest - and yet, here it was, rising to the surface of his consciousness for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

With a sigh, Time shook his head. Why, he asked himself, must the darkness of his past always rear its ugly head when he least wanted it to?

"Because that darkness remains a part of you," echoed an ancient voice, "even in death."

Time lifted his head, unsurprised by the sight of his former self, his Shade, standing a short distance away with his back turned. The phantom held his hands in front of him, resting them on the hilt of his blade in a watchful and vigilant stance. His somber smile returning, Time tilted his head and loosely cross his arms.

"I had a feeling you'd show up in my dreams again," he said. "It's been a while."

The Shade nodded. "As long as your regrets continue to linger in your heart, so too shall my memory."

"But that's just it," said Time, "my regrets were laid to rest ages ago; I've long since found my peace."

"So you say." The Shade turned his head slightly to look back at his other self. "You claim to have found true and total peace... but have you really?"

At that, Time's face began to fall, and he let his hands drop back to his sides. "...I... that's..."

He froze as the phantom finally turned to face him, his monstrous form towering over his own. The Shade tightened his grip on his blade, then spoke with a menacing edge to his voice.

"Heed my warning, self," he bellowed, "a great evil awaits you in the floodlands of your paradise. It seeks to test you, to torment you, to break you - it seeks to take your pain, your doubts, and all of your suffering as its own!"

Time's eyes widened nervously at the other's words. "A great evil?" he asked, "But, how...?"

The Shade's gaze fell until a single red eye was looking directly into the bright blue ones of his true self; then, he continued. "Gather your courage and guard your heart," he said. "Do not let your resolve waver, lest you allow the evil to turn your pain into hatred." With that, the mist began to envelope the Shade until he disappeared from sight completely.

"Wait!" cried Time, stepping forward to try and stop the phantom, "What kind of evil are you - "

He froze in place, however, when he heard the sound of his feet hitting water. Looking down, he found that the thick mist covering the ground had become a clear, shallow pool. Then, he gasped in terror and realization - but he was too late to notice the blur of black and red descending upon his reflection.

With a sharp breath, Time's eyes shot open, and he once again found himself in his own bed, his gaze fixed firmly on the ceiling. After taking a moment to gather his bearings, he sat up, stretching his arms before brushing his untied, matted blond hair away from his face.

He took a glance out the window, noticing that the sun had not quite risen yet. He furrowed his brow in thought; in all of his years of existence, he had learned how to discriminate between his typical dreams and his prophecies, and this was undeniably an example of the latter. He thought of the warning the vision of his former self had given - a great evil which sought to break him - and, for a moment, he almost couldn't make sense of it. They were supposed to be safe here; evil could not normally enter this world... not unless...

Immediately, something clicked in Time's mind; he tossed away the covers and stormed out of bed. After rushing to dress himself, he marched over to the knight's sword and shield that leaned against the wall, took it, and headed straight for the door.

He had debated telling the others about his dream before leaving; perhaps he would have been much wiser to do so. But if this evil was truly what Time thought it was, even his fellow Heroes would have been unable to help him face it. He had been there the first time the realm had been touched by dark magic, and he also knew that Twilight had experienced a similar phenomena. It had come for Sky, it had come for his descendant - and now, he knew, it had come for him.

Of course, no one could say for certain what "it" was, although Sky seemed confident in his own theory. These strange events, he believed, were trials, sent by Farore herself in the form of shadow doppelgangers to ensure that Her chosen ones had not become weak-willed or complacent in death. Furthermore, he was certain that he and Twilight would not be the only ones to be tested; he had urged the rest of them to remain vigilant and to prepare themselves for their own impending trials. And that was exactly what Time had done - rather than simply wait for the trial to come to him, he had decided to go forward and face it, on his own terms.

He noticed that the path leading to the floodlands had become uncharacteristically foggy, and he worried that he would lose his way; he didn't exactly come this way often, after all. However, he did not allow his apprehension to stop him - he continued forward, squinting his eyes as the fog continued to thicken. Eventually, it became too thick to see much of anything, and he slowed his pace, looking around for something to act as a landmark.

Soon enough, he spotted one; the silhouette of a single, dead tree appeared in the mists just a few yards away from him. Relieved, Time rushed over towards it, then stopped dead in his tracks the moment his feet hit water - unlike in his dream, he did not need to look down to know what was coming. His warrior's instincts taking over, he quickly drew his shield and spun around.

The resulting impact of a blade against his shield would have knocked Time over had he not braced himself, and with a grunt, he shoved his attacker away. While the other stumbled to regain his footing, Time stepped back, drawing his blade and taking a good look at his assailant.

"Nice try," he growled, "shadow."

The Dark Link adjusted his grip on his own sword and let out a curt, dry chuckle. "Well met," he said, "I see your sixth sense extends into battle, Hero."

"You could say that," said Time. He pointed his sword at the shadow. "I know why you're here - you've come to test me, just like the others, have you not?"

"You catch on quick," The Dark Link said. "Truth be told, I was sent here to simply speak with you," He removed his shield from his back and readied it, "but I have no intention of following Her Golden Grace's orders."

Time shifted into a battle-ready stance. "And why is that?"

The shadow grinned, his features seeping pure and unadulterated malice. "Why would I ever waste a perfectly good opportunity to cut you down in battle?"

The Hero scoffed. "Good luck with that," he said. "You can't kill a dead man."

"Precisely," he sneered, raising his sword. "That will let it be all the easier to make you suffer endlessly...!"

He charged, attempting to skewer Time with his weapon, which the latter was able to effortlessly dodge with a sidestep. Then, Time countered with a swipe towards his opponent's sword arm. However, the creature proved to be just as nimble as his counterpart, and he maneuvered away with a sidestep of his own. The shadow then attacked again with a series of aggressive blows, each of which were blocked by Time's sword.

"You really have it in for me, don't you?" spat Time with a somewhat forced grin as he continued blocking the shadow's attacks, "I guess you didn't take your defeat in the Water Temple very well...!"

"Do I look like some petulant child to you?" replied the Dark Link, clashing blades with him once more and pushing on it with great force. "My quarrel with you runs much deeper than that, Hero."

Time grunted as he resisted the other's attack. "How so?"

"You are a pawn," growled the shadow, "a mindless servant, a spineless lap dog of those wretched goddesses!" He shifted the weight of his blade to the tip of Time's, turning it downwards and giving him an opportunity to kick the Hero in the stomach. "You have allowed yourself to be used by Them, enslaved by Them as They've forced you to fight Their battles!"

Time stumbled from the kick and just barely caught himself from falling to his knees. Though winded slightly, he quickly regained his composure. "That isn't how I see it," he said with a quick twirl of his weapon. "I'm honored to have been chosen as the Hero."

The creature's scowl grew. "They forced you to face unspeakable horrors and unimaginable suffering!"

"They gave me the chance to prove my courage!"

"They sent a child to do a warrior's job!"

"A job I accepted of my own free will!"

"They took all you had known away from you, and in the end They left you with nothing!"

"You're wrong," said Time, narrowing his eyes at his foe angrily, "They left me with more than enough - They gave me the strength to protect everyone...!"

Now it was Time's turn to charge, taking a running start before leaping over his opponent with a forward somersault, swiping at his head in the process. The shadow cried out in pain as the blade cut into his neck, falling forward as Time landed gracefully on his feet and turned. He watched as the doppelganger stumbled back to his feet.

"Stubborn fool," he said, tossing his shield aside and gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands, "Have you forgotten what They've allowed to become of you and your legacy...!?"

Time opened his mouth to respond - however, he suddenly noticed the telltale glow of the Dark Link's energy being channeled into his sword. Knowing all too well what he was planning, Time raised his shield, but even that failed to protect him from the shockwaves of the creature's Jump Strike. The blow knocked Time on his back and sent both his sword and shield flying into the water, and the shadow wasted no time pinning his arms down with his knees while he was still dazed. Finally, just as Time was beginning to comprehend what had happened, the Dark Link lifted his weapon and brought it down into the Hero's chest.

He let out a breathless cry as he felt the cold blade pierce his body; although the wound was bloodless and ultimately could not kill him, he could still very much feel the excruciating pain. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as the shadow spoke once again.

"Even when your role was over They made you suffer," he hissed. "They allowed the world to forget your deeds; They let you languish in thankless obscurity. And just when you thought you had finally achieved happiness in your work, in your wife, in your children - They took all of that away, too, leaving you to die alone with your regrets...!"

Time snarled, struggling to remove his arms from beneath the creature's knees; however, a sharp twist of the blade sent him into a fit of anguished screams before he could free himself. The shadow continued.

"And that isn't all - no, far from it - the Hyrule you saved, the history you fought so hard for... They made you watch as They washed it all away along with your legacy! That was how much your memory was worth to Them!" He grinned sadistically as he drank in his counterpart's suffering. "You have so many reasons to detest the gods - so many, many reasons - even a man as righteous as you must have wanted to curse Their names."

"I..." choked Time, his face drenched with sweat as the pain became unbearable, "...I..."

"Go on!" laughed the Dark Link, "Curse Them! Let Them know the misery They put you through! Let everyone see the truth behind your mask of holiness and virtue - the true hatred of the Hero of Time...!"

Opening his eyes again, Time saw that the doppelganger had shifted his weight somewhat, allowing him to yank his left arm out. Then, with a shaky hand, he grabbed the black blade tightly and lifted his head, looking straight into the creature's glowing red eyes.

"I've heard enough," he growled laboriously, "of your miserable nonsense...!"

The Dark Link's eyes widened as Time struggled to remove the sword from his chest; first with one hand, then, after freeing his other arm, with both. He grunted as his strength finally overcame his shadow's, slowly pulling the blade out until it was removed entirely, leaving no trace of any sort of wound or scar. Finally, he lifted he leg, kicking the dumbstruck creature off of him and leaving his sword in his hands.

"It's true," he said as he rose to his feet, "I have suffered - I've suffered enough for many a lifetime - and you'd be a fool to think I've never once blamed the gods for it. But I'm not like you."

He approached the Dark Link, who now found himself paralyzed, helpless against the Hero's resolve. As he walked, the sword in his hands turned from darkest black to purest white, its blade teeming with holy light that evil beings reviled. He stopped in front of him, looking down at his pathetic form with a burning fire in his eyes.

"I know my pain was worth it," he said, "every day I spent as the Hero of Time, every battle I've had to fight, every moment of heartbreak I had to endure - if it was protect Hyrule, to protect Termina, to protect my friends, my loved ones, and everyone who would come after me, then it was all worth it!"

At his words, the shadow's head jerked uncontrollably, and it lowered itself against his will, exposing the back of his neck. Then, Time lifted the sword high into the air.

"Tell your mistress that my belief has not wavered," he said, "and that I have nothing left to regret."

With that, he brought the blade down upon his foe, removing his head in one clean cut. Before the head could reach the water beneath them, it disappeared, along with the body and, finally, the sword in Time's hand. For moment, he simply stood, staring down at the space where his doppelganger once was in contemplative silence.

Suddenly, Time felt a drop of water hit his forehead; then another, then another, until he finally realized that it had started to rain. He looked up, startled to see that the fog had vanished in an instant, revealing the familiar trees and swamp plants that colored the floodlands. Relieved that the ordeal was over and satisfied that he had passed his trial, he removed his hat and lifted his face to the sky, allowing the water to wash away his weariness and the last of his regrets with a tranquil smile and a prayer of thanksgiving.